Kitsune
by EmptySurface
Summary: When finding himself stranded in the past, what is a man supposed to do? Surrounded by old friends who are younger than you remember, and without anyone to lean on, life becomes a challenge. Will he be able to forge new friendships and change the course of the future, to prevent the blood soaked world he came from? Failure equals death and mindless destruction. Time-travel.
1. Chapter 1

**Kitsune**

Hiruzen was a seasoned shinobi, priding himself on the fact that there was very little that could surprise him. So when now faced with a situation completely unprecedented, he simply closed the door behind him and signed for his ANBU guard to surround his strange, unbidden guest. Hiruzen strolled into his office, eyeing the body on the floor with wary curiosity.

"Hokage-sama." A man with a bird-like mask said, stepping up to his side.

"How did he get in here?" Hiruzen asked calmly. He might be older than most shinobi, but he could still fight quite well, and wasn't overly worried. He stopped in front of the limp form on the floor. One of the ANBU was currently searching his clothes.

"Hokage-sama." The woman spoke up. Hiruzen nodded for her to continue. "His hitai-ate simply declares him as 'Shinobi'." She rolled him over onto his back, for him to see. "I have never seen that before." She added in a murmur, as if more to herself. Hiruzen simply nodded. Then he caught sight of something, almost at the same time as the woman. She wiped blood and grime off of a piece of worn, dented metal at his chest.

"Konoha." She stated pensively.

Hiruzen eyed it intently. The hitai-ate had been stitched onto the man's vest... right over his heart. The symbolism wasn't lost on him, but he did not understand what was going on. It shouldn't be possible for anyone to get in here undetected.

"I do not recognize this man." He stated firmly, staring at the pale, slack face. The man's hair was blond -if currently dirty and blood stained- and he had a wide scar marring the right side of his face, beginning by his nose, right under his eye, going down his cheek and ending on his neck. A similar scar ran on the other side of his face, but from his mouth down his chin. "How bad is his state?" He asked. The bird-masked ANBU kneeled by the man and a green glow surrounded his hands as he appraised the man's condition.

"He is severely wounded, Hokage-sama. If nothing is done, he will bleed to death." It was stated without much feeling. This was an unknown shinobi, who had somehow made his way into the Hokage's office; a possible threat.

"Heal him enough that he won't die right away." Hiruzen ordered. He wanted to know who this man was, if nothing else. He needed him alive for that. The ANBU nodded and did as ordered.

Sometime later, the man leaned away from the stranger. "It is done." Hiruzen simply nodded and the man rose and backed away a step. Hiruzen was about to lean down to try and wake the man up, when his eyes snapped open.

They were blood red.

Hiruzen had to suppress a shudder as the inhuman gaze fixed itself at him.

"**Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen.**" The man on the floor stated. His voice was gravelly, as if he hadn't spoken in quite some time.

Every single ANBU in the room tensed, ready to leap at the man should he prove to be hostile.

"Who are you?" Hiruzen asked, letting a little of his killing intent leak into the room.

"**I am the brother of this man.**" The man stated, his face eerily blank. "**Do not worry; I cannot move.**" The red eyes flicked briefly to the ANBU. Hiruzen noticed that they had vertical pupils.

Hiruzen was irked by the response; it didn't tell him anything. "How did you get in here?" He demanded next.

"**I used a forbidden jutsu, to send us back in time.**" The man whispered. It appeared he was growing weaker. "**He was dying; I had no choice. The battle was lost.**"

"Who are you referring to?"

"**The shinobi you're looking at.**"

This only served to confound the Hokage more. It must have shown on his face, because the intruder continued, his voice faint now.

"**He is utterly loyal to Konoha, and you in particular, Sarutobi Hiruzen...**" And then his eyes slowly slid shut, but not before flashing in a startlingly familiar blue.

Hiruzen stared at the once again unconscious man. He could feel a headache building behind his eyes.

"What to do with him, Hokage-sama?"

"Take him to one of the secure hospital rooms. Complete lock-down until we can confirm his identity and purpose here." He stated after only a brief pause.

With a quick bow, two of his guards took the body and shunshin'ed away, leaving only two small puffs of smoke in their wake.

Hiruzen was well aware of what the... _man_ had said. Time travel. As far-fetched as it sounded, he could not simply dismiss it. He would have to look into this more closely.

With a heavy sigh, he moved across the room and sat down behind his desk. Without looking up, he addressed another of the ANBU.

"Fetch me Yamanaka Inoichi."

With a quick salute, another of his shinobi disappeared from the room. This sure would prove to be interesting. He absently stared at the blood on his floor, where the man had laid. Someone would have to clean that up.

. o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o .

The first thing that Naruto became aware of when he woke up, was the fact that he was not alone. The second thing that made its way into his muddled mind, was the fact that he was lying on something soft. As confusing as that was, he soon became aware of something much more important. He couldn't move. Panicked, he snapped his eyes open and began to pull at his restraints, ignoring his protesting body.

"Don't move." A firm voice commanded. Naruto listened to it only because it was achingly familiar.

"Impossible." Was the first word out of his mouth. Naruto almost winced at how rough and raw his voice sounded. His throat ached at the simple act of speaking.

"Are you aware of where you are?"

Naruto tried to shake his head, but was unable to, so he was forced to speak up. "No." He croaked. Damn, his voice was pitiful. He absently wondered why he wasn't in more pain.

"You are in Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves." The same voice informed him. Naruto blinked once. He couldn't help himself; he began to chuckle. It wasn't a particularly happy sound, and it hurt more than it should.

"Why are you laughing?" A new voice asked, sounding perplexed.

"Konoha was destroyed years ago." Naruto said. He must have been captured by the enemy. Still, that didn't exactly explain why he was still alive... Madara would have extracted the Kyuubi first chance he got, and consequently killed him. "I saw it happen."

Silence rang loudly at his words.

"What is your name?" The first voice asked, sounding slightly less hostile now.

"..." Naruto didn't answer and the question was repeated again. "I would be a pitiful shinobi if I gave in just like that."

A heavy sigh was heard not far from where he lay, staring up at a white ceiling. How could anything be that white?

"Let him up so that he can see me."

A moment later, Naruto found himself staring openly at a face he had never thought he'd see again.

"... Jiji." His voice hitched slightly.

Hiruzen frowned. There were only a few people who ever called him that... Surely that couldn't be right.

"Your name." He snapped. His patience was wearing thin.

Naruto's quickly moistening eyes suddenly narrowed. "How do I know this isn't a genjutsu?" He asked suspiciously.

"You don't." Hiruzen said. "Nevertheless, I will have an explanation as to why and how you ended up in my office. If you do not part with this information willingly, I will have someone enter your mind." He mentioned towards Yamanaka Inoichi with a wave of his hand. Naruto's gaze flicked over to the man before quickly returning to Hiruzen's.

After a couple of tense moments, he visibly deflated. "Fine." He said. He continued to mutter under his breath. "I can't see why I would be alive if I was captured..."

"Name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

His answer was met by another shocked silence. Hiruzen and Inoichi exchanged disbelieving looks before turning to stare at the grown man before them.

"...How old are you?"

"22." Naruto answered tiredly. He didn't know what was going on, or what had happened. He didn't even know where he was.

"How did you end up in my office?"

Naruto blinked and then frowned. "No idea."

"What are your intentions?"

Naruto just gave them a blank look. Intentions? Heck, he barely knew what was going on.

"What is the last thing you remember before now, then?" Hiruzen grudgingly gave in.

"I was on the battlefield." Naruto answered briskly. _That_ was something he was familiar with. He was about to continue, but frowned as he came up with a blank. "Wait, I'll ask Kurama if he know what's going on."

Hiruzen and Inoichi both blinked and then exchanged another quick glance. They watched as the man's blue eyes glazed over. A moment later, he snapped out of it and his eyes widened.

"Holy crap!" He exclaimed faintly.

"Excuse me?" Hiruzen felt his eyebrows rise towards his hairline. Inoichi coughed into his hand, though it sounded suspiciously like a laugh. No one dared speak to him like that anymore.

"I'm in the past." Naruto sounded close to fainting and his breathing sped up until he was close to hyperventilating.

"Calm down!" Hiruzen snapped. He was running out of patience, and would not stand for the man to loose consciousness.

His barked order seemed to have the desired effect, as Naruto slowly relaxed. He hadn't even been aware he had strained his muscles.

"Now, explain."

"I- I'm from the future." Naruto stumbled slightly on the words. "Kurama brought us back in time..." His blue eyes were wide.

"Who's Kurama?" Inoichi asked, puzzled.

"It might be better if you speak with him directly if you want your questions answered." Naruto ignored the question and closed his eyes. They quickly opened again, but this time they were the same red that they'd been two days earlier. Inoichi flinched from shock.

"**What do you want?**"

Hiruzen couldn't help but notice that the man's voice sounded decidedly rougher.

"**Naruto and I both already explained. We're from the future.**" He ground out impatiently.

"Who are you?" Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.

The man stared intently at him a moment before barking out a laugh. "**I am the Kyuubi.**" He grinned menacingly.

"How is it you are able to speak like this?" Hiruzen asked coldly. "I thought the seal kept you back."

"**And it did.**" The Kyuubi growled slightly. "**Me and the brat came to an agreement long ago. We now work together, and I will protect him. He is the only human I care for.**" He glared. "**The only one.**" He stressed this fact. If Hiruzen didn't know better, he'd say that the demon sounded vaguely embarrassed.

He let out a tired sigh. "Let's say I believe you... How did you end up in the past?" Hiruzen leaned back in the chair he occupied and rubbed his fingers over his eyes. This was turning out to be quite the headache.

"**I told you before I passed out.**" The Kyuubi grumbled. "**Naruto was dying. I had to do something, and there was no hope for us left where we came from.**" He made a brief pause, his red eyes boring into Hiruzen's skull. "**I will not tell you the technique I used to bring us here, and I did not intend to bring us straight into your office. It must have been Naruto's strong emotions that brought us there.**"

"Why was... Naruto," It was with some difficulty that Hiruzen used the name in reference to this scarred man. "dying?" He asked.

"**The time we came from was at war.**" Kyuubi stated brusquely. "**We survived longer that most, but still... Against enough enemies.**" He let out a sigh. "**Naruto was about to be captured, and I would have been forcefully extracted from him.**" He slowly blinked. "**It would have meant the end of the world.**"

"I didn't know the Bijuu were prone to exaggeration." Inoichi murmured quietly.

Kyuubi managed to actually snarl. "**Exaggeration!?**" He sounded outraged. "**Here I deign to speak to lowly humans, and look what it brings me!**" He practically screamed. Or as much screaming as Naruto's abused throat would allow. His eyes abruptly snapped shut and when they opened they were blue once more.

"Sorry about that. He's a bit cranky at the moment, as he's suffering from severe chakra depletion." Despite his words Naruto sounded far from apologetic.

Inoichi just gaped at him.

Hiruzen decided he had had enough. "Will you submit to the mind-walking technique?" He asked sharply. It went unsaid that it would be forced if he refused.

"I will." Naruto gave Hiruzen a fond look before shifting his gaze to the blond shinobi standing to the side. "I'm ready whenever you are, Inoichi-oyaji."

Looking wary and tense, Inoichi nodded and stepped forward. He bent down and stared into Naruto's eyes, forming a quick string of seals with his hands.

Hiruzen watched and waited in silence. He would have his answer soon enough, and then hopefully be able to make some sense out of all of this.

Ten minutes later, Inoichi broke free of the technique with a gasp and collapsed on the floor. Hiruzen was at his side in a matter of seconds. "Inoichi." His voice filled with concern.

"It's true." Inoichi had eyes for nothing but Naruto. "All of it is true." His voice was weak, and he looked nauseous.

Naruto met his gaze steadily. "The world was not a pretty place." He commented mutedly. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes a brief moment, before giving the two men crouched on the floor a blinding smile. "So how old am I here? My younger self, I mean."

"He... He's twelve." Hiruzen stared at the blonde. This really was Naruto. How had he gotten those scars? It shouldn't be possible. Especially not with the Kyuubi's chakra.

Naruto looked thoughtful a moment. "Has the Chuunin exams been yet?"

Hiruzen shook his head. "Actually, team 7 just returned from a C-rank gone A-rank mission from wave."

"Ah." Naruto didn't look the least bit surprised, confirming the truth further. "So Zabuza and Haku are dead. Pity." Was all he had to say about that. Naruto suddenly looked exhausted. "There's so much to do..." He sighed.

"What do you mean?" Hiruzen returned to his chair, mentioning for Inoichi to remove Naruto's restraints.

"The events over the next few years are very important." Naruto shrugged. He continued to stretch his limbs carefully as the restraints fell from him.

Hiruzen let out a heavy sigh. He didn't ask about the future; he knew how serious this was, and wouldn't want to mess too much with time. "You'll have to stay here for now, Naruto. I'll come back in a few days."

"Alright." Naruto shrugged again. He was exhausted, and his body was still aching. He knew his chakra stores were almost empty. "See you, Jiji." He watched the old man leave the room, conversing quietly with Ino's dad.

. o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o .

"Here."

Naruto reflexively caught the white projectile aimed at his face. He turned it over to see a white mask with red markings. It was a smirking fox.

"After you leave this room, you'll no longer be Uzumaki Naruto." The Sandaime informed. "You will from now on be known as nothing more than Kitsune."

"Yes, sir." Kitsune answered readily. Anything to get out of this room! He had waited two days for the Hokage to return.

"I also brought you a uniform. You're now part of my personal ANBU team."

"ANBU?" Kitsune tilted his head slightly, eyes lighting up. "Really?" Those in charge had always refused him that particular position.

"Yes." Hiruzen looked slightly apprehensive as he took a seat in the single chair by the bed. "But before that, we need to talk." He gave the young man a meaningful look. Kitsune nodded.

"What rank do you have?" He would take on Kitsune no matter what position he had, but it would be beneficial to know.

"Technically, I'm just a Genin." Kitsune grinned.

Hiruzen felt like burying his face in his hands. "Technically?"

"Yes. Because of certain circumstances, I was never promoted beyond Genin. I was traveling with Jiraya for two years, training." He made a brief pause, thinking back. "I'm a Sage." He said.

"You are? A Sage?" Hiruzen's eyebrows climbed towards his hairline. A Genin Sage? It was unheard of.

"Yes. I am also able to work perfectly together with Kurama. But even without the old fuzzball's help, I'm a chakra powerhouse." He shrugged.

Fuzzball? Who in their right mind referred to the Kyuubi as 'fuzzball'? Naruto got up and quickly shrugged out of the hospital gown. Hiruzen studied the young man's scars with a detached sort of fascination. Inoichi had told him about the memories he had seen...

Kitsune quickly pulled on the dark blue uniform, strapping on the standard issue weapons pouch and then finished it all off with the dark green vest. He fingered the cloth over his heart a moment before turning towards the Hokage.

"...Hokage-sama." He began hesitantly.

Hiruzen automatically straightened at the formal tone of his voice. "Speak."

"My hitai-ate. Do you know where it is?" He eyed the leader of the village serenely. Hiruzen relaxed and then reached into a pocket.

"Here you go." He threw the battered piece of metal to the shinobi, who caught it with a steady hand. "Why did you wear it on your vest?" He asked, more curious than anything else.

"After the war began, the Nations banded together. We gave up the use of the old hitai-ate, and replaced them with ones that simply stated 'shinobi'." Kitsune paused. "But I could not give up the one Iruka-sensei gave me, so I asked Sakura to sew it onto my vest, closest to my heart." He then snapped into attention, pulling his new mask into place. "What are your orders, Hokage-sama?"

"At ease." Hiruzen felt his lips twitch in a slight smile. "I have made sure you have accommodations in the village. You are taking a shift on duty as of now."

"Yes, sir." Kitsune saluted before he relaxed. "So, Jiji. Won't people be suspicious if I just show up out of nowhere?"

"They will." Hiruzen chuckled. "And I don't know how long we will be able to keep this under wraps." He gave the man a speculative look. "I don't think people will believe me if I say you've been on an infiltration mission..." Kitsune just shrugged. Hiruzen sighed, shook his head and then continued. "Anyway. You'll have to do something about your hair. There's only one person in the village with such a vibrant yellow hair colour." He gave Kitsune a sad smile. "And hide those whisker marks too, in case you lose your mask." He added thoughtfully.

Kitsune nodded and formed the proper hand seals. A moment later, his blond hair had been replaced by a faded red. You couldn't see it, but the distinctive whisker marks on his cheeks were also gone, hidden by the henge.

"There. Acceptable?" He tilted his head questioningly.

"It will do." Hiruzen nodded. "Why red?" He asked curiously.

"In honor of my mother." Kitsune smiled sadly under the fox mask. Hiruzen startled. "You really ought to tell Naruto about his parents, Jiji." There was a well hidden, berating note in the man's cheerful demeanor.

Hiruzen took a deep breath, rubbing at his face. "Let's go. I'm needed in my office." He turned around and headed for the door. Kitsune shrugged and followed. He was ANBU now, after all.

. o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o .

Two hours later, Kitsune felt like anything would be better than this. Remaining hidden, watching the Hokage do his paperwork and listening to the occasional conversation was boring as hell. Kitsune was bored.

'**We've talked about this, Kit.**' Kurama's voice resonated in his mind. '**Patience.**' The fox was almost completely recovered by now, but had spent the days since their arrival almost constantly sleeping.

'_I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it._' Kitsune retorted with a mental pout. '_There's nothing for me to do!_'

'**There's a reason you was never placed on the ANBU, brat.**' Kurama sounded far too amused for Kitsune's liking. '**You're about as subtle as a drunk rhino in a restaurant.**' The demon fox chuckled. Kitsune grimaced.

'_So stealth isn't my strong suite. Fine._' He relented. '_But I can beat anyone when it comes to speed._' He retorted sullenly.

'**Yes. I agree that there isn't anyone that can beat you with that.**' Kurama nodded. It wasn't so much that the man was incapable of stealth; he just didn't possess the patience for it. He personally wondered how long it would take for Naruto -Kitsune now, he reminded himself- to tire of it all, and reveal himself to the room. As it turned out, he didn't have to wait long.

"Oi, Jiji."

Hiruzen looked up, to see Kitsune reclining on the sofa by the wall.

"Kitsune." He acknowledged the man, hiding his amusement. He knew more than anyone that Naruto wasn't suited for ANBU.

"This is boring. Doesn't anyone ever attack you? Even just a little?" Kitsune complained. The other ANBU in the room could hardly believe their ears.

"There hasn't been a direct attack on my person in quite a few years, no." Hiruzen signed another paper, before picking up the next one to be read. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll be handing out missions to the Genin teams soon." He hid a smile.

Kitsune perked up. "Well, it's better than this." He jumped up and strolled over to the desk, taking a seat on a corner, folding his legs up Indian style. "What are you even doing?"

"Reading reports, signing mission requests and such things." Hiruzen answered patiently. "The Hokage post is somewhat overrated, I think. Everyone forgets all about the paperwork." He smirked.

Kitsune grimaced. "Imagine; you could be spending all this time training."

"I am an old man, Kitsune." He reminded the man, suppressing a chuckle. "I have far more important things to do than training."

"What?!" Kitsune sounded outraged. "There's nothing more important than training!"

"Hear that, kids. It's true." A pleasant voice stated from the door. Kitsune simply tilted his head in acknowledgment. He hadn't heard that voice in a long time. "Mornin', Old man." Asuma entered the room fully, followed by three very young looking Genin. Kitsune almost fell off the desk he was sitting on as he caught sight of how tiny Shikamaru and Chouji were. And Ino didn't even have breasts!

"Good morning, Asuma." Hiruzen greeted with a faint smile. "Here for your mission?" He asked, even though he knew full well that was the reason.

"Of course." Asuma offered a wry half-smile.

"Well, then. Here you go." Hiruzen handed his son a scroll, containing their mission for the day. "D-rank." He smiled.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru muttered, stifling a yawn.

"Quiet! We're in front of the Sandaime." Ino smacked him in the back of his head.

"I'm hungry." Chouji muttered under his breath, rubbing his stomach. Kitsune was very glad he was wearing a mask as he looked at his old friends. How nice it was to see them again! Even thought they were about ten years younger than they ought to be.

"Good luck with your mission."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" The three Genin answered with different levels of enthusiasm. Or, as in Shikamaru's case, the lack thereof. Once they had all left, Kitsune slowly turned back towards the Hokage.

"You turned quiet, Kitsune." Hiruzen observed. "Not used to seeing Genin?"

Kitsune understood what it was he meant, and slowly nodded. They were so young. Had he really been that small when he had been a Genin? He let out a quiet sigh; he had probably been even smaller.

The rest of the morning progressed in a similar manner. Kitsune remained in his claimed seat on the Hokage's desk, asking random questions from time to time. They would never admit it, but the rest of the Hokage's ANBU guard found his behavior rather amusing. It wasn't until mid-day that something truly interesting happened. It knocked on the door.

"Enter." Hiruzen called out distractedly. The door quickly opened to reveal one particular Chuunin.

"Hokage-sama, I've brought the files you asked for yesterday." Iruka said as he walked up to the desk and put down a pile of files. Kitsune moved before anyone had a chance to react.

"Iruka-sensei!" And he wrapped the brown-haired man in a fierce hug.

Iruka stood frozen in shock. "Uh, Hokage-sama?" Iruka chose to ignore the strange shinobi and turned to the old man for answers. He could swear he could hear the ANBU in the room snigger.

"Ah, Iruka-kun. This is the newest member of my ANBU guard." Hiruzen answered amicably, pretending not to notice the man still clinging to the Chuunin. "Kitsune."

"Eh." Kitsune released the man and took a quick step back. "Nice to meet you." He offered sheepishly. Iruka stared at him.

"Right." He answered slowly, drawing the word out. He turned back to the Sandaime. "I need to return to the Academy, Hokage-sama." And he saluted and left, sending Kitsune confused, slightly wary glances all the while.

"You might want to reconsider the way you greet people." Hiruzen commented lightly, stomping down on all the questions rising within.

"Yes." Came Kitsune's downcast reply.

. o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o .

Hours later, Kitsune was released from the Hokage's office. He immediately went to the small apartment he had been given, to check it out. He didn't linger there long, though, as it had little to offer at the moment. Soon enough, Kitsune found himself in a favorite spot of his; the Hokage monument. Sitting on top of the Yondaime's head, leaning against one of the hair spikes, he stared out over Konoha.

'**How're you holding up?**' Kurama asked softly.

'_I think it's finally sinking in._' Kitsune admitted. '_Seeing Iruka today..._' He let out a heavy sigh. Iruka had died years ago, in the beginning of the war. He had gone down trying to protect a team of newly promoted Genin. It had not been pretty.

'**You've missed him.**' It wasn't a question.

'_Yeah. I mean, he was the first person to acknowledge me._' Kitsune gave a mental shrug. '_He's important to me._' He made a long pause. '_His death was painful, and difficult to accept._'

'**I know, Kit.**' Kurama hummed, settling down in his mindscape.

"Who're you?" His mental conversation was interrupted by a terrifyingly familiar voice. Kitsune turned around to stare at an orange and blond eyesore.

"Kitsune." Kitsune said, pointing at his mask.

"Oh..." Twelve year old Naruto answered, squinting at him. "I've never seen you here before." He informed him.

Kitsune let out another sigh and nodded. "I'm usually not up here much." He admitted with a shrug. It was the truth, but mainly because Konohagakure had been destroyed in his time and there was nothing to look at. "Shouldn't you be training or something?" Kitsune asked, glancing up at the sun. He hadn't been here that long, had he?

"Yeah, but my Sensei is in the hospital, so I have a few days off." Naruto rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Kitsune blinked. He really had been socially awkward back then. Nowadays he simply didn't care anymore. Naruto blinked curiously at him a few moments before slowly sitting down. "So why do you wear a mask?"

"I'm ANBU." Kitsune answered evenly.

"I thought ANBU just wore masks when they were working." Naruto pointed out, squinting at him slightly. "You're not an enemy nin, are you?"

"I'm not." Kitsune chuckled. "Look." He pulled out his old hitai-ate from the breast pocket of his vest, handing it over to Naruto.

"Why's it so banged up?" Naruto asked, curiously turning it over in his hands.

"It's the first one I got, and it's very important to me." Kitsune glanced up at the one on Naruto's forehead.

"Oh. Mine too!" Naruto handed the dented piece of metal back with a wide grin. "Iruka-sensei gave me mine!" He chirped happily.

Kitsune then spent the next fifteen minutes listening to why Iruka-sensei was the best person in the world. It was somewhat endearing, he thought. He had leaned back, supporting his head with his hands, as he listened to Naruto prattle on and on about everyday stuff. He remembered that he'd hardly had anyone to talk to at this age. There really had only been Iruka and the Hokage, and the Sandaime didn't have much time to spend on a lonely twelve year old.

When Naruto began to talk about his Genin team, Kitsune asked a few carefully neutral questions. And then listened to rants on Sasuke-teme and adoring rambling on Sakura-chan. Naruto even managed to mention Kakashi in there somewhere. Kitsune smiled wistfully under his mask.

Eventually, he sat up straight and stretched his arms over his head. "Sorry, kid. I need to go. I want to get in some training before I go to bed tonight." And he got to his feet.

"Oh." Naruto looked thoroughly disappointed before perking up. "Can't you teach me some cool ninjutsu?"

Kitsune laughed. "Sorry, kid. I only know a few ninjutsu. It's not really my specialty." He revealed, amused.

"So what's your specialty?" Naruto looked honestly confused.

"Well." Kitsune jumped to the boy's other side. "I'm really fast, and skilled when it comes to taijutsu." He grinned at Naruto's awed expression. "And shouldn't you think about getting something to eat before going to bed?" He inquired.

"I guess." Naruto sighed and got up. "I'll see you around?" It sounded more like a hopeful question than a statement.

"I'm sure you will." Kitsune nodded and then left for one of the empty training grounds. He had spent all day doing virtually nothing; he'd have to work off some energy before he'd be able to sleep.

. o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o .

A little over a week later, Kitsune was strolling around the Hokage office's ceiling when team 7 walked in for their mission.

"Yo, Naruto!" Kitsune greeted him enthusiastically. He was bored out of his mind, and welcomed any distraction. "Here for a mission?" He tilted his head questioningly.

Naruto blinked up at him before breaking out laughing.

"You know that weirdo, dobe?" Sasuke scowled faintly, glaring at his teammate, as if blaming him for the strange welcome.

"Hi, Kitsune." Naruto had recovered enough to return the greeting by now. "What're you doing?"

"I'm working." Kitsune answered in a voice that stated it ought to be obvious. "Unfortunately, the Hokage insists on staying behind his desk, instead of going out there to challenge dangerous opponents, so I'm stuck here." He crossed his arms in front of his chest and let a slight pout leak into his voice. The Sandaime simply chuckled as he took in Kakashi's silent bafflement. The man was skilled at hiding his emotions, but you could see it if you looked close enough.

"Kitsune, please don't disturb the Genin." He intervened before Naruto could fire off another question. Kitsune executed a perfect salute, which looked utterly ridiculous when he was standing upside down. Naruto snorted at the sight.

Kakashi's visible eye twitched, especially since he could hear the faint sound of a snicker from one of the hidden ANBU. Who was this guy?

"The mission, Hokage-sama." Kakashi reminded, as the old man seemed to struggle not to laugh too.

"Of course." Hiruzen cleared his throat and then handed over a scroll. "A D-rank." He said, knowing what was to come.

"Aw, come on! We managed an A-rank, and now we're back with Ds?" Naruto complained loudly. "Give us something more difficult, Jiji!"

"Really? A runt like you pulled off an A-rank?" Kitsune teased, strolling up to Naruto until his masked face was almost right in front of Naruto's, staring him in the eyes. "I mean, you don't even reach me to the neck." He said, posing one of his hands over Naruto's head as he tsk'ed.

"Ey!" Naruto took a swipe at him, clearly affronted. Kitsune just laughed and sidestepped him.

"Anyway!" Hiruzen had to raise his voice slightly, to intervene before it could turn into a ridiculous form of tag. "Any questions, Kakashi-kun?"

"None." Kakashi eye-smiled and then herded his team out the door. Naruto was making faces at Kitsune all the way, until the door closed between them.

"I didn't know you had met Naruto already, Kitsune." Hiruzen smiled up at the man. He had to admit that while Kitsune was abysmal at staying hidden and discreet, he sure was excellent entertainment.

Kitsune shrugged. "We met up at the Hokage monument."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. I went there for the view." His words held so much more meaning, and Hiruzen found himself staring at the time traveller. "We talked."

"Hm." Hiruzen grabbed the next report he had to read and sign. "I've been thinking, Kitsune. I don't really think you're suited for ANBU. At least not my personal guard."

"You think?" Kitsune deadpanned.

Hiruzen ignored him. "I thought I should let you know you're up for an assessment tomorrow, to see what missions I can send you on." He smiled warmly at the man.

"Really?" Kitsune didn't sound the least upset about the surprise assessment. "_Yes_!" He dropped from the ceiling, flipped in the air and landed on his feet without a sound. "So what'll you have me do?" He plopped into his favored seat on the old man's desk.

Hiruzen chuckled. "I was thinking a fight would be sufficient."

"With whom?" Kitsune asked eagerly. Even through the mask, Hiruzen could see the gleam in his eyes.

"Kakashi. The Jounin that just left with Naruto-kun."

"Is he any good?" Kitsune asked, suppressed mirth in his voice.

"Very." Hiruzen nodded. He had to admit he had chosen Kakashi mostly out of curiosity. Pitting the man against his student's future self would be interesting.

Kitsune leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Won't it be unfair? I know Kakashi better than most, while he doesn't know me at all."

"Maybe." Hiruzen shrugged. "It'll no doubt be interesting." He smiled.

"I always knew you had a twisted sense of humor." Kitsune barked out a laugh.

"As you've repeatedly pointed out; I'm stuck behind this desk most of the day. I need some form of entertainment." Hiruzen grinned unrepentantly.

"So true." Kitsune nodded. "So can I please go harass Kakashi a bit now?" He asked innocently.

"Your shift doesn't end until one hours from now."

"I know." Kitsune didn't sound concerned. "But you haven't told Kakashi yet, have you? I'm sure he'd appreciate some time to mentally prepare." Kitsune grinned under the mask. He would have so much fun with this!

"Fine. If only to get you out of my hair." Hiruzen grumbled in mock irritation. "The office will be more peaceful without you here." He rolled his eyes as Kitsune executed some sort of victory pose in front of his desk. "I need to work, now shoo." And he waved him away.

"Thanks, old man!" And Kitsune leapt out the open window.

"He really is... unusual." Taka murmured quietly from his spot by the window.

"Yes." Hiruzen answered simply, casting an amused glance at the bird masked ANBU.

. o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o .

Kitsune spent a few minutes up in a tree, just observing the three Genin and their sensei as they began the day's mission. Gathering trash from a small, shallow stream on the edge of the village. After a few minutes of watching Naruto make a fool of himself in an attempt to get Sakura's attention, he leapt down to the ground next to where Kakashi was slumped against a tree, reading his beloved Icha Icha.

"Shouldn't you be with the Hokage?" Kakashi asked without taking his eye off the book.

"I'm off in an hour, so he let me go now to inform you of your plans for tomorrow." Kitsune grinned.

"My plans for tomorrow?" Kakashi echoed evenly.

"Yes. Apparently, I have an assessment tomorrow, and the Sandaime inform me a few minutes ago."

Kakashi thought he knew where this was going, but didn't plan to make it any easier for this strange shinobi. Too bad his strategy didn't seem to be working.

"You and I will spar. I don't know the time or place yet, but I'll take any opportunity to get out of that office." Kitsune stated cheerfully, not the least bit contrite.

Kakashi finally looked up at him, incredulous. "...How in the world did you become ANBU?" He asked.

Kitsune took no offence, but settled down on the grass next to the man, instead. "No idea. The Hokage made the decision. I, personally, think he was bored and wanted some entertainment." He admitted in a loud stage whisper.

Kakashi blinked. What was wrong with this guy? Usually, whoever he was talking to would have gotten offended and left by now. Instead of showing any reaction, Kakashi snapped his gaze back to his book, deciding to ignore the fox masked shinobi.

"And the rest of his ANBU guard haven't done anything about your behaviour yet?" Kakashi couldn't help but ask in a disinterested voice.

"Oh, one or two of them tried a few things." Kitsune leaned back. "It was fun for a while, but they gave up when they realised it wasn't working. Now they just sort of go with it. I can even make them laugh from time to time." Kitsune grinned. "I'm winning." He added smugly.

"You turned it into a competition?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

"Have you ever guarded the Hokage? It's boring as hell!" Kitsune defended himself. Kakashi blinked and then realised he had been pulled into the conversation again. He hummed noncommittally and returned to his reading.

"Kakashi-sensei! This is too boring!" Naruto called over at the seemingly relaxed Jounin.

"It's an important mission, Naruto-kun." Kakashi answered in his default, politely amused tone. "And we'll stay here until you finish it."

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei." Came Naruto's despondent reply.

"Wow, you're a laidback Jounin." Kitsune commented, just to tick Kakashi off. It was oh so funny to get a reaction out of the man. As expected, Kakashi's eye twitched. Kitsune resigned himself to the fact that Kakashi was now ignoring him, and turned to watch the three Genin. He really itched to do something about Sasuke.

An hour later, the two of them were joined by the kids in the grass.

"Are you always wearing that mask?" Naruto asked curiously as he flopped down next to him. Even Sasuke turned his head slightly to hear better.

"Yes." Kitsune answered amusedly.

"Why?" Sakura joined the conversation.

"To hide my hideous face." Kitsune stated dramatically. "Disfigured by my many battles!" He continued to spread it on thick. Kids were so much fun, and he'd rarely had a chance to spend time with anything other than battle hardened soldiers since the war broke out.

Naruto snickered. "Didn't you say you were really fast?" He grinned.

"True!" Kitsune was surprised he had remembered that. "Amazing! You must have a perfect memory or something." He grinned right back at him, even though none of them could see. Sakura and Sasuke both snorted at that, causing Naruto to scowl at them.

"I just remembered you said that, because you told me you wasn't very good at ninjutsu." Naruto pouted. Sasuke sent Kitsune a disdainful glance at that.

Kitsune held up a finger. "Ah, but I didn't say that!" He reprimanded lightly. "I said I didn't know too many ninjutsu. I never said I wasn't any good at them." He smirked. "The ones I actually know, I know very well." He was aware of the fact that Kakashi was listening closely, despite being apparently engrossed in his reading. Kitsune didn't mind, and saw this as a chance to even the odds a little.

"Like what?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Now, I can't tell you that." Kitsune put on a tone of seriousness. "If I did, I'd have to kill you. Especially since I'm fighting your sensei tomorrow." He relaxed in his seat again, slumping against the tree.

"You are? Why?" Sakura cut in before Naruto had a chance to open his mouth.

"I'm being assessed. Apparently, I'm not suited for the Hokage's ANBU guard." Kitsune told her with mock hurt. "Who would've known?"

Sasuke snorted.

"Aha!" Kitsune exclaimed, pointing at him. "I made you laugh!" He stated smugly, effectively drawing the boy into the conversation.

"I was laughing _at_ you." Sasuke pointed out bluntly.

"Even so, you laughed." Kitsune chuckled. "You know, scowling like that all day will give you wrinkles before you know it." He tapped a finger to the side of his mask in a thoughtful manner.

Sasuke blinked at him, and then seemed to deem him a hopeless idiot. "I'm twelve." He muttered sullenly.

"Exactly. You should break out of the habit now, before it's too late!" Kitsune then abruptly turned towards the other two. "So what about you two?"

"What about us?" Sakura asked pensively, glancing between him and Sasuke and back again.

"What bad habits do you have that needs to be broken?" He tilted his head questioningly.

"I don't have any!" Naruto declared confidently. "All my habits are good." He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Is that so? And you?" He turned to Sakura without disputing the boy. The girl was currently looking like she wanted nothing more than to introduce Naruto's face to her fist.

"I, uh... I-" Sakura stammered.

"Sounds to me as if you all have plenty of things to work on. Not to mention your sensei over there." Kitsune had lowered his voice conspiringly now. "My guess is that he's an irreparable pervert."

Sakura choked on air, while Naruto snickered. Even Sasuke's lips quirked up a fraction. Again, Kakashi's eye twitched, but he didn't show any other sign of actually listening.

"So what do you guys do now? It's still early."

"I don't know." Sakura looked over at Kakashi, an uncertain expression on her face.

"How about a game of tag?" Kitsune suggested excitedly. "Kakashi's it!" And before anyone could either refuse or agree, Kitsune had snatched the orange book out of Kakashi's hand and dashed away with a manic laugh. His students only got a glimpse of Kakashi's outraged face before he dashed after the decidedly odd ANBU, leaving them all alone.

"So... Do we report back to the Hokage on our own?" Sakura asked timidly.

"I guess?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head confusedly. Sasuke just sighed and got to his feet.

"Let's go." And he led the way back to the village centre.

Twenty minutes later, the three Genin trudged into the Hokage's office. Sasuke looked bored, while Sakura looked decided uncomfortable with the entire situation. Naruto walked in with a large grin on his face, just like he always did.

Hiruzen looked up, surprised. "Now, where is Kakashi?" He asked.

"He, uh..." Naruto blinked, wondering how he was supposed to phrase this.

"That odd ANBU of yours engaged him in a game of tag." Sasuke's blunt answer left the room in a stunned silence.

"And how in the world did he manage to do that?" Hiruzen had trouble seeing Kakashi agree to play anything. Even less with someone he considered a complete stranger.

"He stole Kakashi-sensei's book." Sakura answered when it was obvious Sasuke deemed he had done his part.

Hiruzen stared. He became aware of several of his ANBU who momentarily slipped in their efforts to remain hidden, but pretended like he hadn't noticed. "He did what?" He eventually asked.

"He took that orange book Kakashi-sensei's always reading and ran off." Naruto nodded, confirming what Sakura had just said. Hiruzen slowly put down the brush he had been using and rubbed his hands over his face.

"He didn't."

"But he did, Jiji!" Naruto insisted.

"Oh, I'm not saying you're lying." Hiruzen quickly assured them. "It's just..." He'd have an irate Kakashi in his office sooner or later, he was sure. "Can't he just do things normally?" He exclaimed, asking no one in particular. The three Genin just blinked at him. "Never mind. Have you finished the mission?"

"We think so. Kakashi-sensei left before we could ask." Sakura said hesitantly, as if wondering if they would get scolded.

"Alright. I'll accept that today, since there's some... circumstances. You can go." He nodded and waved them out of his room. As soon as they had left, Hiruzen slumped back in his chair.

"He stole Kakashi's Icha Icha." he muttered to himself.

"This is Hatake Kakashi we're talking about, right?" Taka asked uncertainly. He was usually acting as the ANBUs' voice.

"Indeed he is."

Silence rang loudly as the ANBU in the room reevaluated the odd shinobi they had started to get to know over the last two weeks. Hiruzen just knew that this would be all over the village before the day was over. He hoped Kakashi was prepared for Kitsune's friendship. It mattered little whether he wanted it or not; he had it.

. o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o .

Okay, so Kakashi could admit he had underestimated the fox masked shinobi. That didn't explain why he was now chasing said shinobi all over Konoha for something that was rightfully his. Playing tag! And the man was ridiculously fast. He hadn't been lying when he'd claimed so, earlier. But Kakashi was no slouch either, when he made an effort, and was right on the man's heel. They two of them dashed over rooftops and trees. Kitsune jumped down to the middle of the street, startling the civilians, before he was off again. Kakashi ground his teeth and followed. Where were they even going?

They ended up on top of the Hokage monument. Kakashi glared at the red haired ANBU, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Explanation." He demanded.

Kitsune turned to look at him, unconcerned with Kakashi's leaking killing intent. "You seemed like you could need a break." He shrugged.

Kakashi blinked. Whatever reason he might have expected, that wasn't it. "Huh?" Was his eloquent response.

Kitsune tilted his head a little. "You seemed like you could need a bit of mindless fun."

"You call this fun?" Kakashi deadpanned.

"You can't deny it." Kitsune grinned. "If you really didn't want to chase me, you wouldn't have." He stated confidently. "It's not like I was going to destroy your book." He pointed out, trying not to sound as smug as he felt.

Irritated, Kakashi just held out his hand. "I want it back."

"Sure." Kitsune stepped towards him. "Are you certain you don't want to play a bit more?" He teased lightly.

"I'm certain." Kakashi ground out. Damn it, this guy was annoying! And he completely disregarded the facade Kakashi put up. The moment he got hold of his book he inspected it for any damage it might have sustained during their wild trek through Konoha, but to his surprise and relief, it was perfectly unharmed. Jiraya-sama, the man who had taught his sensei, had written this book. He glanced at Kitsune, just to see the man sitting down where he had stood a moment before. Kakashi surprised himself by joining him, opening the book to read as he did so. "You really are fast." He commented neutrally.

Kitsune produced a noncommittal sound. "I'm probably the fastest shinobi alive." He murmured absently. Kakashi blinked and gave him an incredulous glance. That was quite a claim. But Kitsune didn't sound particularly enthusiastic about it, or as if he was actually aware of the fact that he had said it out loud. That just gave it more weight, in Kakashi's opinion, and he made sure to remember it.

"I've heard the Raikage is pretty fast. Supposedly only bested by the Yondaime, the Yellow Flash." He said in a conversional tone, returning his gaze to the text in his hand.

"Mm." Kitsune hummed, leaning back until he was lying on the stone surface, using his hands as a headrest. They stayed like that, enjoying each other's silent company.

. o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o .


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Kitsune waited patiently at the appointed training field, sprawled carelessly in the grass. Kakashi was always late, and he doubted it'd be different today. The Hokage and two Jounin were waiting off to the side. The two Jounin both had an air of impatient around them, while the Hokage seemed to enjoy the open air and sunshine. No wonder, since he usually spent this time of day indoors.

"Are you ready, Kitsune-kun?" Hiruzen called over to him.

"Of course, Hokage-sama. I'm good to go the moment Kakashi deigns to turn up." He replied without even opening his eyes. The sun felt wonderful against his skin.

"Good." None of them mentioned the three spectators hidden in the trees some distance away. Figures team 7 would turn up to watch. Kitsune felt a smile stretch his lips. Children really were too curious.

Twenty minutes later, Kakashi appeared next to the Hokage, ready with an eye smile and all. "Good morning." He greeted calmly, as if he wasn't an hour and a half late.

"Good morning, Kakashi." Kitsune jumped to his feet and strolled over.

"Kitsune." Kakashi greeted with a nod.

Hiruzen watched the exchange with a faint smile. He had thought Kakashi would be furious over Kitsune's behavior the previous day, but it seemed it had all worked out well. Kakashi even seemed... friendly, towards the man.

"Let's begin, then. I believe you're both ready?" Hiruzen brought everyone's attention to the matter at hand.

"Yes, sir." Both Kitsune and Kakashi answered readily.

"Whenever you're ready, then." Hiruzen and the two Jounin retreated to some distance away to watch.

Kitsune turned towards Kakashi, leaning a bit closer and lowered his voice. "You are aware of the spectators, aren't you?" Kakashi gave a subtle nod. "No stray kunai in that direction." Kitsune concluded and then marched over to a spot he was comfortable with, before turning back towards his opponent.

"Begin!" Hiruzen stated, eyes trained on the two young men. This would be interesting.

Kitsune pulled out a kunai from his pouch, twirled it expertly in his hand a moment, before gripping it tightly. He formed a simple seal with his other hand and a Kage Bunshin puffed into existence at his side. A heartbeat later, the two Kitsune's were charging the grey haired shinobi. Kunai clashed a few times as they slowly but steadily gained speed, and shuriken were deflected. Soon enough, the two of them were nothing more than a blur for the untrained eye. Kakashi jumped back, formed a series of hand seals and then breathed an enormous fireball at the fox masked man. Kitsune dove out of the way, rolling to his feet immediately and diving at his opponent again.

Kakashi wasted no time as he began to throw ninjutsu after ninjutsu at the man; he wanted to press him into using some of his own. The man's taijutsu had already proven to be more than adequate. Kakashi's one visible eye quickly widened when he realized he could no longer see the kage bunshin. He knew he hadn't dispelled it, and was immediately on edge. A few minutes and exchanged blows later, a hand grabbed his legs from underneath the soil he stood on, almost tripping him. He quickly threw a kunai at the bunshin's head, effectively dispelling it.

The fight escalated from there.

Hiruzen watched the fight unfold, and was astounded. Especially when considering that that was _Naruto_; the dead last. And Kitsune had still not pulled any ninjutsu apart from the most basic ones, as well as the kage bunshin clones. To think that he had the Kyuubi on top of that, too. What kind of enemy had he been fighting to reduce him to the state he had been in when Hiruzen had found him on his office floor? A frightening thought, if any. It wasn't until Kakashi pushed up his hitai-ate to use his sharingan that things began to change. If possible, the two shinobi gained speed. Kitsune was running around dodging kunai and ninjutsu, aiming kicks and kunai of his own at Kakashi, who managed to dodge most of them.

Kitsune suddenly pulled back and stopped. Kakashi tensed as his sharingan followed the string of seals the man formed, before slamming his hand down on the scarred ground. A loud rumbling sounded before the earth seemed to crack open in a cobweb of fissures. Kakashi didn't waste time to stand and stare, but launched into action. He already had something in mind that might work. Kitsune proved to be more of a challenge than he had thought, and he even suspected the man to be holding back.

Taking advantage of the upturned ground, Kakashi laid his trap as they fought. When he was ready, he leapt back, already forming the hand seals.

Kitsune's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. Cursing out loud, he ran towards an area they had yet to fight in. He spat out a harsh curse as he heard Kakashi's low, victorious exclamation.

And then the world around him erupted into flames.

Smoke filled the area and debris rained down on them as they waited to see what had happened.

"Damn it." They could hear someone exclaim as a shadow separated from the smoke.

Hiruzen watched a slightly singed Kitsune shake his head. His mask was covered in soot, and his left arm looked like it had recieved a burn, but looked otherwise unharmed.

Impressive.

"That explosion almost made me deaf, you stupid scarecrow!"

Kakashi blinked, before eye smiling at him. Kitsune took that opportunity to attack. It appeared the blast had managed to affect him more than Hiruzen had first thought, as he watched one of Kakashi's kicks land, resulting in an earsplitting crack.

Kitsune dodged the kick, but his head was still ringing from that damn explosion, so he didn't pull back far enough. The smack to his face made his eyes water and it felt as if his nose had been broken, but he ignored the pain as he felt his mask crack and slowly slide off his face. Well, good thing the old man had thought of that henge. He didn't let Kakashi savor the moment as he attacked with renewed abandon. His head hurt, his eyes were stinging from the smoke and direct sunlight, his nose was most likely broken and his arm was burned; all in all, he didn't feel like keeping this up much longer. He'd be damned, but he'd give Kakashi a few mementos too.

A few strikes later, Kitsune smirked triumphantly as Kakashi grunted with pain as his kunai sank into the man's thigh. Now having successfully hampered the man's movements, it was easy to kick him hard in the chest in his moment of distraction. In a flash, Kitsune was crouched over the man, a kunai pressed against his jugular. He grinned down at Kakashi, and the man's eyes widened a friction at the sight of his exposed face. Kitsune knew that his scars were very noticeable, and pulled at his mouth when he grinned, making his smiled somewhat lopsided.

"Very well done." Hiruzen called out. "Come over here now, and let the medic take a look at you." The man ordered.

Kitsune quickly put the kunai away and helped Kakashi up. Kakashi eyed his hand a moment, before taking it. He refused any further help, however, and limped over to the Hokage and the waiting medic with his pride intact, Kitsune strolling along beside him. The moment they got there, the medic began to fuss over Kakashi, making him sit down so he could take a look at his injured leg.

"That was an excellent fight." Hiruzen observed.

"Thank you." Kitsune grinned. It felt really strange without his mask on; he had worn it constantly ever since he had left the hospital. "It was fun." He added cheerfully.

Kakashi just sent him a look, not really surprised anymore. He remained silent as the medic treated his leg, a green glow surrounding the man's hands as his chakra knitted his flesh back together. Hiruzen, meanwhile, was having a muted discussion with the other Jounin, presumably about Kitsune's performance and the possibilities this presented. Kitsune waited patiently for the medic as movement at the edge of his field of vision caught his attention. He watched one of the shadows bend down to pick something up and reacted before anyone had time to even blink.

"Don't!" He exclaimed frantically, startling the rest of the shinobi. Kitsune was behind the two boys in a heartbeat, grabbed them around their waists and returned to the others, just as an explosion went off where the boys had been standing just a moment before. "Don't you _ever_ enter a battlefield before it's been cleared. Understand?!" Kitsune snapped at the two wide-eyed Genin. "There're still traps and explosion tags all over the place." He added in a fractionally calmer voice. He then caught sight of something red on Sasuke's clothing.

"Are you hurt? Where are you bleeding?" He asked worriedly, grabbing the boy's arm and inspected his side where the blood was staining his clothes.

"It's yours." Sasuke stated, looking decidedly uncomfortable.

"Oh." Kitsune immediately relaxed. "Okay, then." He caught sight of Sakura on the other side by the trees, looking thoroughly downcast and abandoned. He quickly jumped over -careful with where he placed his feet- grabbed her and then put her down next to her teammates. He then strolled over to Kakashi and flopped down on the ground next to him.

"What are you three doing here?" Kakashi asked tiredly, deciding to ignore the potentially lethal situation that had just been deflected. For now.

"We wanted to watch you and Kitsune fight!" It looked like Naruto had recuperated from the shock by now.

"And _why_ did you go out on the field?" He fixed his students with an intense glare.

"Kitsune's mask." Naruto stated sheepishly, handing over a piece of the broken porcelain mask to Kitsune, who took it with a sigh.

"Naruto." He began sharply. "Kakashi placed traps all over that field. You two are lucky you didn't step on any before you reached this." He held up the blackened piece for them to see.

"I didn't see any." Naruto defended himself stubbornly. Kitsune raised an eyebrow, pulled out a kunai and threw it into the field. It struck a rock with a clang which immediately erupted into a flash of fire, consuming the metal knife. "Oh." Naruto blinked.

"I told you it was a bad idea." Sakura looked close to tears.

"At least no one was hurt." Kitsune breathed.

Sasuke gave him an incredulous look. "You're bleeding." He stated.

Kitsune glanced down on his left arm before dismissing it with a faint scoff. Unfortunately, the medic didn't.

"Take off your shirt." He ordered. Kitsune turned to glare at the man who was obviously done with Kakashi.

"Why? It's just my arm!" He objected. "You can treat it just as easily like this."

"I want to make sure you don't have any other injuries after that explosion." The man explained impatiently.

"It's fine, this is the only one." He held out his arm.

The three Genin watched with some amusement as Kitsune and the medic nin argued. Eventually, the medic relented and settled for cutting off the arm of Kitsune's uniform, revealing his bare arm. The three children immediately stopped smiling.

"That must hurt." Naruto observed as he stared at the angry red, cracked skin. Kitsune peered over at him.

"It's not too bad." He smiled reassuringly.

Sasuke scoffed. He knew that that must be very painful. He glanced down on his shirt, which was smeared with blood. He had used that arm to carry him away from the explosion...

"So you won over Kakashi-sensei, huh." Naruto said as he sat down next to the scarred man.

Kitsune made a noncommittal sound, giving Naruto a knowing look. "Yes. But had I been just a little bit slower, Kakashi would have won. That trap was very dangerous, you see." He explained to the blond. "And had the fight dragged on much longer, Kakashi would've won, because he's much smarter than me."

"Why?" Sasuke couldn't help but ask. He was curious as to why the man thought so.

Kitsune turned to meet his gaze, pleasantly surprised by Sasuke's involvement in the conversation. "You see, Kakashi had already placed another two traps in there, rigging the things while I was trying to get out of the explosion's range."

Kakashi startled. How in the world had the man had time to notice that?

"I had to be very careful where I stepped, or I would have been defeated without even reaching your Sensei."

"Hn." Sasuke glanced at Kakashi, who eye smiled back.

The medic chose that moment to smear ointment on Kitsune's tender skin, causing him to tense. Once he was done, the man wrapped it quickly with bandages and turned his attention to Kitsune's face.

"This'll only take a moment to fix." He muttered to himself before placing two fingers over the break in his nose. It snapped back into place and Kitsune felt the healing chakra wash over it, numbing the pain. "There." He stated once he was done. "Let the bandages remain on until the burn is completely healed. Apply this ointment every night before going to bed." He handed Kitsune a small jar. "Make sure not to get any dirt on the skin." He gave the redhead a warning glare, before turning to the waiting Hokage. "I've done what I can." He confirmed.

"Well then. Kitsune, I hope you're up for a trip to the Hokage tower." He looked the man over worriedly.

"Oh, I'm fine." Kitsune rolled his blue eyes with an exasperated grin. "It's hardly the worst I've ever been injured."

Hiruzen just nodded. "Let's go, then. Kakashi, you can take the rest of the day off." He sent a meaningful look towards the three Genin, and Kakashi nodded with a sigh. He understood.

Kitsune stood up and made to jump off, but Hiruzen caught his uninjured arm. "Here." He handed him a new mask, identical to the one that had been shattered. "I thought you might need a new one." He smiled and then disappeared with a small puff of smoke. Kitsune rolled his eyes again, ignoring Kurama's hearty laughter, donned the mask and followed.

. o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o. o . o .

"Is it true, what he said?" Sakura asked the moment they were alone.

Kakashi turned towards her. "About the fight? It is." He nodded, pulling his hitai-ate down to cover his sharingan. "He surprised me by making a direct attack after taking such an injury. Had he made a different decision, I had prepared for it." Kakashi shrugged. Sakura sat down next to him.

"Are you alright, Kakashi-sensei?" She eyed his bloody leg worriedly.

"I'm fine, Sakura-chan." Kakashi eye smiled at her. "He plunged his kunai into the muscle. It painful, and hinders your movements, but is easy to mend." He assured her. "See." He pulled at the torn fabric, revealing nothing but smooth, whole skin. Sakura nodded, clearly reassured.

"But that fight was awesome." Naruto said, beaming at his Jounin sensei.

Kakashi simply sighed. "Now, we need to talk. Sit down." He mentioned for Sasuke to join them. After all three were seated in front of him, Kakashi fixed them with a serious, stern stare. "I want you to know just how close the two of you were to getting seriously injured today." Kakashi stared unrelentingly at Naruto and Sasuke. "If Kitsune had been just a fraction too late, the two of you would not be sitting here right now." It was important that they understood how close it had been. Naruto blinked while Sasuke's scowl just deepened. Kakashi glared at them until both of them nodded.

"Good." Kakashi finally gave them a faint eye smile. He would drill them mercilessly for this.

. o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o . o .

"How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Stop fussing, Jiji." Kitsune smiled at him as he sat down on the sofa. They were all alone -for a change- in the Hokage's office. The Sandaime had just activated the privacy seals to ensure that no one could eavesdrop. Kitsune had been given a day off to recuperate, but was now ready to take on the responsibilities of a Konoha Jounin.

"So you're ready for taking missions?" Hiruzen glanced at the still bandaged arm.

"Of course."

"But before that..." Hiruzen made a brief pause, gaze flicking to Kitsune's stomach. "I would like to inquire about your tenant."

"About Kurama? Sure. What about him?" Kitsune asked, tilting his head slightly to the side. He had pushed up his mask, so that it was resting on top of his head.

"How well can you truly control the Kyuubi? If I am to send you on missions, I can't have it going out of control and reveal who and what you are." Hiruzen eyed the young man evenly. He needed an answer to this.

"Control?" Kitsune asked, blinking at the Hokage. "You misunderstand, Jiji." He placed a hand on his stomach, over the seal. "Kurama and I are partners; we work together." He gave him a small smile.

Hiruzen didn't look convinced. "The Demon fox can work together with a human?"

"He can." Kitsune grinned. "Would you like a demonstration?"

Hiruzen blinked. "In what way?" He felt apprehensive about allowing the Kyuubi to do anything inside the village.

"Our chakra is quite special, when we use it." Kitsune explained, his eyes slowly closing as he concentrated.

Hiruzen watched as a flickering light came to life in the room. A blink of an eye later, and Kitsune was surrounded by a golden cloak of chakra. It felt like sunshine after a rainy day. Like a comforting fire on a cold, dark night. How could this power come from the Kyuubi? That's when Hiruzen realized that it didn't; this was Naruto. This wasn't the Kyuubi's chakra; it was Naruto's.

"And this is only the first 'form', if you can call it that." Kitsune spoke softly, opening his eyes. They were now the same golden color as the rest of him. "If we join together more closely I'll get a slightly different appearance, and I'll be able to turn into a variation of Kurama."

"A variation?"

"Yes. Because I only have half of Kurama's chakra sealed away inside of me, I can't make us look solid." Like Gyuki and Bee. He made a brief pause. "At least that's Kurama's theory." He smiled sadly. "Dad has the other half, remember." He clarified when the Sandaime looked confused.

"Minato?" Hiruzen let out a heavy breath. Kitsune nodded and let the chakra fade.

"So are you convinced yet? Or do you want to speak with Kurama directly?"

Hiruzen frowned. Kitsune didn't wait for a response, but grinned and formed a single seal. A moment later, a kage bunshin popped into existence next to him. Only this one had red eyes.

"**So, Sarutobi Hiruzen. You believe I will go berserk on missions?**" Kurama began in a raspy conversational tone. Kitsune had to suppress a snicker.

"What evidence do I have that you won't?" If the Hokage was unnerved by this use of a kage bunshin, he didn't show it.

"**I no longer have any desire to take over Naruto's body.**" Kurama stated. "**I haven't tried that in years.**" He added, grumbling under his breath. "**As he said; we work together now.**" Kurama lifted his chin defiantly, as if daring Hiruzen to contradict.

"Why?" Was the only thing Hiruzen could think of asking. The Kyuubi was known to be nothing more than a hostile mass of malevolent chakra.

Kurama looked contemplative for a moment. "**Because he accepted me.**"

"I wanted to try and do something about all of Kurama's hatred." Kitsune elaborated with a shrug.

"...I see." Hiruzen had to admit he was convinced. He gave the two of them a resigned nod. "Alright. I believe you." Kurama gave him a predatory grin and then dissolved in a puff of smoke as the kage bunshin dispelled. Hiruzen took a moment to compose himself and then continued as if nothing had happened. "Well, then. Are you ready for your first Jounin meeting?"

"Of course." Kitsune smirked and then pulled down his mask as the Sandaime cancelled the effects of the privacy seals. His ANBU guard immediately returned to the room. Hiruzen signaled to them that everything was alright and then got to his feet.

"Let's get this over with." He muttered, leading Kitsune out of the room.

. o . o . o . o . o .

Kitsune stood leaning against the back wall, arms crossed in front of his chest as he listened to the Hokage's briefing; talking about the up-coming missions, the situation at the country's borders and such. He pretended like he didn't notice that every single Jounin in the room were sending him curious looks every now and then. Towards the end of the meeting, the door opened and a book-wielding Kakashi strolled in, eye glued to his precious text. After a brief pause, he walked over to Kitsune and slumped against the wall next to him. This only served to make the rest of the room intensify their scrutiny. Kitsune smiled.

"Subtle as always." He commented dryly.

"How's the arm?" Kakashi ignored the jibe and returned with one of his own. Kitsune could clearly hear the amused undertone in his voice.

"It's fine. Almost healed already." He gave a one sided shrug. In truth, the arm was perfectly healed by now -thanks to Kurama's chakra- but he had to pretend otherwise to avoid attention. "How's the team?"

"They're fine, a bit shaken but otherwise learned a valuable lesson." Kakashi flicked him a quick glance. "I think you've earned Sasuke's respect." He sounded torn between amusement and incredulity.

Kitsune snorted. "I didn't know that was possible." He chuckled. Kakashi just hummed and turned back to his Icha Icha. Once the Hokage finished speaking and concluded the meeting, a few of the other Jounin drew closer to the masked pair.

"Kakashi. Who's your friend?" Kurenai asked curiously, followed by Asuma and, surprisingly, Anko.

"This is Kitsune." Kakashi gave a disinterested response. Kitsune sniggered.

"Why are you wearing your ANBU mask?" Anko continued, as blunt as always.

"I just want to spare you all my horribly disfigured face." Kitsune told her in a perfectly serious tone. "Kakashi tried to burn it off a few days ago."

"He did what?" Kurenai turned incredulously towards Kakashi.

"I did not." Kakashi objected.

"Fine. You just tried to blow me up." Kitsune smiled.

"It was a fair fight." Kakashi shrugged, much to the amazement of the others.

"Yeah, and you only got my arm." Kitsune was grinning outright by now.

"I'm beginning to think you did that on purpose, just to get out of the Hokage's office." Kakashi commented absently.

"Of course."

"At least deny it, Kitsune." Hiruzen cut into the conversation with an exasperated sigh.

"Hokage-sama." The Jounin snapped to attention. Kitsune gave him a lazy salute.

"You know my disrespect comes with love, Jiji." He stated in his most serious voice. Hiruzen eyed him wryly.

"Is that so? Maybe I should place you on gate duty for a few days." He raised an eyebrow.

"NO!" Kitsune clasped the Hokage's hand with an air of desperation. "I was joking! Kakashi really did try to kill me with that trap! I only barely escaped with my life." He confessed. "He's a genius shinobi who shouldn't be taken lightly!"

"Alight." Hiruzen couldn't hold back a chuckle. "So are you ready for a mission? I have one for you here." He held up a scroll. Kitsune snatched it out of his hand before anyone could so much as blink.

"YES!" He exclaimed, arms raised over his head. "I'm never going back to your office again, Old man!" He then dashed out of the room, leaving a bunch of speechless shinobi in his wake.

"He... seems like a... _unique _guy." Kurenai offered diplomatically.

"He's nuts." Anko deadpanned.

"I think Kitsune-san seems like a very youthful man." Gai put in with a wide grin, surprising everyone, since no one had noticed him.

"That he is, Gai-kun." Hiruzen agreed.

"So why haven't I seen him before? I think I would've remembered someone like that." Asuma turned towards his father.

"He's been part of ANBU, my personal guard. It doesn't suit him, so I transferred him."

"Right." Asuma's eyes lit up with recognition. "He's the one that's been in your office the last few weeks." Hiruzen nodded. "He's been sitting on your desk. Not very ANBU of him."

"You should have seen him when me and my team met him the first time." Kakashi put in with a faintly amused voice. "He was strolling around the ceiling."

"No way!" Anko looked a mix between incredulous and awed.

"He was. And then he picked a fight with Naruto." Kakashi continued, ignoring the uncomfortable looks on some of his colleagues' faces.

"He is aware that he'll have to report to you office, right?" Asuma glanced at his father.

"Oh, he knows." Hiruzen assured them with a smile. "Have a nice day." And he walked to the door.

"KAKASHI!" Gai exclaimed, too loud for comfort. "I hear your new youthful friend engaged you in a game of tag!" He slapped the masked Jounin on the back, a blinding smile on his face. Kakashi's eye twitched and before anyone could ask or comment further, he disappeared in a small puff of smoke.

. o . o . o . o . o .

A simple B-rank mission. Kitsune grimaced; this really was too easy for him. But he supposed the Old man wanted to give him an easy start. It was his first proper mission since coming back in time, after all.

Kitsune quickly donned his uniform, strapping on his backpack and tucking away his storage scrolls. He finished it all by checking his weapons pouch and then donned his mask. After a quick look around his sparsely furnished apartment, he shunshin'ed away.

Kitsune entered the Hokage's office once the secretary had ushered him inside. He saluted the old man and then waited patiently. Soon enough, he was joined by another shinobi.

"Hokage-sama." The man saluted and then stepped up so that he stood beside Kitsune.

"Well then. You're both here." Hiruzen eyed them seriously. "I have assigned the two of you to this mission, a B-rank." He began. "You two will act as my envoys to Sunagakure no Sato. You are both aware of the fact that Konoha will host the Chuunin exams this year?" Both men nodded. "Good. This is just one last step in preparation for that. Kitsune." Hiruzen turned his attention to the fox masked shinobi. "Your job is to serve as a companion and guard for Genma, here. He's been my voice and contact with the Kazekage. You will do as he says and protect him against any harm that might come your way. Understood?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Kitsune snapped a salute.

"Genma." He turned to the brown haired, senbon wielding shinobi. "I have already given you your instructions and we have discussed everything needed for this trip." Genma nodded serenely. "Well, then. I'll await your return a week and a half from now." And with that, they were dismissed. Kitsune followed Genma out the door as they headed for the village gates.

Kitsune found himself studying the Jounin out of the corner of his eye as they jumped over the rooftops. He had half-long brown hair that ended at his jaw line and a senbon in his mouth, rolling it absently between his teeth, as if deep in thought. Genma nodded at the two guards at the gate without slowing their pace.

Kitsune suppressed a small sigh; this journey would most likely turn out to be quite awkward. He hadn't known Genma particularly well in his time. But he had seen him get killed, and the image lingered in his mind every time he looked at the man. After some time of travel, Genma spoke up for the first time.

"I hope this pace won't be a problem for you. We'll keep it up so that we reach Suna in the appointed time, three days from now." His eyes were still focused ahead of them, looking for sturdy branches to leap to. They had moved into the trees quickly after leaving the village, as it was quicker and with less interruptions.

"It won't be a problem." Kitsune assured him, not quite able to suppress the amused undertone in his voice.

"Good." Was Genma's only response after a quick glance at his mask.

Hours trickled by and Kitsune found his mind wandering.

'**You might see Gaara again.**' Kurama tried to cheer him up. '**Of course, he will be the emotionless killing-machine he was when you first met him, and won't recognize you.**'

'_If you're trying to cheer me up, I'd like to tell you you're doing a shitty job._' Kitsune replied dryly. '_I wonder if there's something I can do for him?_' He added sadly. Gaara's life right now was just like his had been, all those years ago.

'**I don't know if you should.**' Kurama mused. '**His bond with Naruto -you- was always important.**' He pointed out needlessly.

'_I know that!_' It pained him that what Kurama said was the truth. '_I just can't stand the thought of leaving him all alone...'_

'**I know, kit.**'

When it was beginning to darken, Genma slowed down.

"We're stopping for the night." He declared when Kitsune tilted his head questioningly.

Kitsune was surprised. They could still travel quite some ways before it got too dark to see. But then he caught himself; maybe this was normal when you weren't constantly chased by an enemy intent on your demise?

"I'll take the first guard shift." He offered. Genma sent him a calculating look before nodding.

"Thanks." And he then pulled out a blanket, spread it out on the ground and lay down to rest. More out of habit that anything else, Kitsune quickly made three kage bunshins and sent them out into the surrounding foliage before taking a seat at the base of a tree. He studied his companion as he slowly eased into a light sleep, breaths even but silent. It was common amongst shinobi; making sure to be still and quiet even in sleep.

He slowly leaned back, listening to the peaceful sounds of the forest around them and enjoying the lack of the looming shadow of war in the air.

. o . o . o . o . o .

Finally arriving in Sunagakure no Sato two days later, Kitsune looked around at the somewhat familiar surroundings. Genma had begun to relax around him along the way here, and was now almost friendly. He waited quietly as Genma approached the gate guard and talked to the shinobi on duty, introducing them and stating their business.

"Come on, Kitsune." Genma said once he was done. "We're heading straight for the Kazekage's office." He said, leading the way into the sandy village.

"Sure. Lead the way." He nodded. Kitsune absently looked around, wondering if he'd see any familiar faces on the way. He could feel a faint pull inside, as if something was calling for his attention.

'**It's Shukaku's killing intent and chakra you're feeling, Kit.**' Kurama informed him tersely. Kitsune gave him a mental nod and focused more closely on their surroundings. A quick glance at Genma told him the man was focused solely on finding his way to the Kazekage's building. Once they found the correct building, Kitsune was surprised to see Genma actually pause to take the senbon out of his mouth and tuck it away. It appeared he noticed the look, because he quirked a quick smile.

"Can't approach the Kazekage with weapons out." He pointed out before continuing. Kitsune chuckled and followed.

It turned out to be another immensely boring day for Kitsune, as he waited for Genma outside of the Kazekage's office. He tried to make time go faster by restlessly pacing the room, occasionally looking out one of the windows. The room's other occupants -not to mention the on-duty shinobi- gave him bewildered and irritated looks, but Kitsune ignored them with practiced ease.

Genma looked exhausted when he finally came out. He gave Kitsune one look before visibly slumping in resignation.

"I have no idea how you can be so energetic." He grumbled tiredly.

"I have good stamina." Kitsune shrugged with a grin.

"That might be so, but this is ridiculous." Genma muttered, sending him an envious glare. "We've been running from dawn to dusk for three days and you still have energy to spare."

Kitsune didn't say anything, but smiled under his mask as they made their way down a corridor.

"Where are we going?"

"The Kazekage has appointed us rooms down this corridor." Genma told him. "It's set aside for envoys from other countries, such as us." He explained at Kitsune's confused glance.

"Oh. Well, it'll be nice to sleep in a bed again." Kitsune said, stretching. He wondered where the Kazekage's children stayed. Surely the man would want to try and keep Gaara away from potentially important people? Or maybe he would keep the Jinchuuriki close as a reminder of Suna's power? He didn't know and didn't have the patience to ponder the question at length; he'd simply have to wait and see if he ran into the small version of his brother.

. o . o . o . o . o .

As it was, Kitsune met Kankuro first. He was waiting outside the Kazekage's office for Genma once again, this time having chosen a spot by the window, standing with his arms crossed over his chest and staring out at the village. This might not have been very eye-catching, if it wasn't for the fact that he was hanging upside-down from the ceiling. The shinobi guards gave him incredulous, borderline scornful looks.

"What the hell are you doing?" A voice demanded to know. Kitsune turned his neck to spot a kid with purple markings in his face.

"Looking at the village." Kitsune answered innocently.

Kankuro gave him a suspicious glare. "I don't think I've seen you before."

"I'm from Konoha!" Kitsune informed him cheerfully. "My name is Kitsune." He grinned, pointing at his mask.

Kankuro blinked. Right. This man was a complete idiot. "Don't you have a babysitter or something somewhere?" He asked disdainfully.

Unfazed by the scorn, Kitsune happily replied. "Yeah, but he's having a meeting with your Kazekage at the moment, so I'm bored out of my mind."

"Why are you staying here then?" Kankuro couldn't help but ask.

"Orders." The strange shinobi stated with a shrug.

Kankuro supposed he could grudgingly respect that... Deciding to ignore the foreigner, he walked over to his father's secretary.

"Kankuro-kun." She eyed him warily.

"I need to talk to the Kazekage." Kankuro began evenly.

Kitsune tuned them out, hoping that Genma would be done with the Kage soon. Half an hour later, his wish was granted.

"GENMA!" Kitsune exclaimed, engulfing the man in a desperate hug. "I thought I was going to die of boredom!" He complained to the shocked man. Before anyone -including Genma- had a chance to react, Kitsune had shunshin'ed them away, leaving nothing but a puff of smoke in their wake.

"Weird ass moron." Kankuro muttered as he took the opportunity to go into the Kazekage's office.

. o . o . o . o . o .

"Can you let go of me now?" Genma deadpanned as Kitsune brought them to their rooms. Kitsune did as asked with a wide grin. "Why are you behaving like this?" Genma asked. "You weren't like this on the way here." He muttered sullenly. Spending any length of time with the Yondaime Kazekage gave him a headache, and Kitsune wasn't helping.

"Why not? It's fun." Kitsune waved it away. "Can we _please_ do something now?"

"Fine." Genma relented, rolling his eyes. "I want to visit a few places in the village anyway." He let out a sigh. "Come on."

"Yes!" Kitsune happily followed the Jounin out.

Kitsune watched with some amusement as Genma took out a senbon the moment they got outside. Was it some sort of addiction? Maybe he had smeared something on the weapon? Like a poison, but less deadly? Genma took a quick look around and then set off down an alley. Kitsune strolled along, hands in his pockets as he studied the shops curiously. Things were really different in peace times, he mused. Genma eventually stopped in front of a store.

"Alright. Do whatever you want for a while." He turned to fix an irritated glare on Kitsune. "You're a grown man, stop following me around."

Kitsune made a show of mock indignation. "What? But what about my orders?"

"I doubt I'll encounter anything in here that I can't take care of on my own. And if I did, I doubt you'd be any help." Genma stated patiently.

"Fine. See you in a few hours." Kitsune waved goodbye and then jumped up to the roof of the nearest building. Genma pinched the bridge of his nose, took a deep breath, and then entered the shop.

Kitsune ran around the village for a bit, looking down on the people in the streets with interest. He didn't really have anything specific he wanted to do. Did the sand village have a Ramen stand anywhere? He decided to try and find one.

Kitsune was well aware of the fact that he was being followed. That wasn't anything strange; he was a Jounin from another village, after all. It wasn't as if _any_ village would allow a potential threat to roam around without supervision. He ignored the Suna ANBU and instead focused on finding something interesting. A sudden spike in oppressive chakra and killing intent made him pause. Kitsune grinned under his mask. The next moment he was gone from the spot he had previously been standing in. The ANBU scrambled to follow.

"Hi." Kitsune greeted in a carefree manner. Much to his guards' growing horror, the man was sitting at the edge of a roof, feet dangling over the edge. That in itself, wasn't any cause for concern. No, the fact that he was sitting next to the village's homicidal Jinchuuriki was.

Gaara turned away from the unfortunate shinobi that had somehow invoked his anger and stared at the stranger. Kitsune inwardly flinched at the dead, soulless gaze. Gaara had all the emotional complexity of a rock, at the moment.

"Who are you?" He demanded in a monotone Kitsune hadn't heard in a very long time.

"Me? I'm Kitsune." He answered cheerfully.

Gaara glared suspiciously at him. How had this man managed to get so close to him without his notice?

"You're not a Suna shinobi." He stated.

Excellent deduction! "No. I'm from Konoha!" Kitsune grinned. "So what's your name?"

Most of those listening could barely believe their ears. What was this idiot thinking? He was going to get himself killed! At least they managed to save the man that Gaara had been in the process of killing when they had arrived.

"Sabaku no Gaara." Gaara said. Now, hopefully, the annoying man would leave him alone.

"Oh. So are you going to participate in the Chuunin exam?"

"Leave." Gaara had run out of patience. This shinobi was asking to be killed.

"I don't really feel like it." Kitsune leaned back, supporting himself on his hands, seemingly staring up at the cloudless, blue sky.

"Then die." Gaara moved a hand and sand gushed out of the gourd on his back, rushing towards the seemingly carefree leaf shinobi. In one moment, he was there... the next, he was gone. Gaara blinked and then whirled around.

"You missed!" Kitsune announced happily.

With a subtle growl, he directed his sand at the infuriating man.

. o . o . o . o . o .


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Genma-san!" A Sand shinobi burst into the store Genma was currently browsing. He looked up questioningly, hand hovering over his weapons pouch at the ready. "You came here with that fox masked man, right?"

"Yes." Genma answered slowly with some trepidation.

"He's in trouble." The man told him nervously. "Please come with me."

"What did he manage to do? He's been on his own for barely an hour!" Genma grumbled as he followed the man.

What met their eyes when they reached their destination left them both speechless. Apparently, every ninja that had arrived at the scene suffered a similar reaction.

Genma finally snapped out of it. "KITSUNE! What the hell are you doing?" He shouted, eyes wide as he followed his fellow shinobi's breakneck speed.

"Playing!" Came the reply. The man even had the audacity to sound happy.

"Who the hell is this guy?" A man Genma thought was named Baki demanded to know.

"He's a newly appointed Jounin." Genma answered tersely. He didn't really know much about Kitsune. He had just heard that the man was a flunked out ANBU. But this was ridiculous! Kitsune was jumping around, dodging sand -sand, of all things!- almost too fast for the naked eye to follow.

"Gaara, enough!" Baki snapped at the red haired child that was orchestrating the sand to chase Kitsune. "What do you think you're doing to the envoy from Konoha?"

"Killing the dog." Gaara answered in his usual monotone, eyes never leaving his prey.

"DOG?!" Kitsune exclaimed indignantly, outraged by the word. "This is a _fox_ mask!" Kitsune shouted at the kid.

"_That's_ what you're offended by? In this situation?!" Genma demanded incredulously, well on his way halfway to hysterics. Kitsune just shrugged, and quickly dodged another assault. Why wasn't he countering the attacks? It looked like the Gaara kid was seriously trying to kill him.

Kitsune ignored the surrounding ninja and turned to Gaara, a calculating gleam in his eyes. '_Are you ready?_'

'**Yes. Let's do this.**' Kurama replied. '**Make sure to get close enough for eye-contact.**' The Kyuubi sounded tense, anticipating. Kitsune gave a mental nod and jumped closer to the redhead, concentrating on dodging the dangerous sand. The next thing he knew, Kitsune was standing in a bright, indefinable place, below the towering form of Kurama.

"**Why the fuck did you drag me down here, Bastard?!**" Shukaku screeched.

"**Shut up!**" Kurama rumbled irritably.

"Hello." Kitsune greeted the Ichibi cautiously. Gaara had told him a little of what this particular Bijuu had been like.

"**You actually brought your pathetic Jinchuuriki down here? You've fallen, Kyuubi.**" Shukaku cackled loudly. Kurama growled.

"We pulled you down here to talk." Kitsune declared, already disliking the oversized tanuki.

"**About what, tiny?**" Shukaku glared down at him, looking like he wanted nothing more than to stomp him flat. Kurama move one paw in front of Kitsune protectively.

"Stop messing with Gaara." Kitsune demanded, voice sharp and leaving no room for argument. "Stop lying to him, and stop bothering him while he sleeps!" He glared right back at the enormous demon, not deterred in the least.

"**Why the fuck would I want to do that?**" Shukaku looked honestly puzzled.

"Why don't you try to be friends with him instead of driving him insane?" Kitsune intensified his glare.

"**Friends?**" Shukaku looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. He then burst out laughing. "**I'm just having a bit of fun.**" He cackled. "**This fucking village is driving him insane all on their own, I'm just helping along a little.**" He stated gleefully.

Shukaku then turned to Kurama. "**I never thought you, out of all of us, would bow down to a pitiful human.**" He sneered.

Kurama growled, baring his teeth threateningly. "**I still haven't bowed to anyone, _Ichibi_.**" The fox spat, waving his multiple tails behind him. "**Unlike you, I still remember what the Old man told us. And I don't go tossing my name around for everyone to hear.**" He added contemptuously.

"**Kyuubi!**" Shukaku screamed shrilly, lashing out with a massive paw towards Kitsune. Kitsune, however, was already moving. He ran up Kurama's arm, paused between his friend's large ears and then leapt at Shukaku. With Kurama's help, he gathered as much chakra he could muster at the heel of one foot, before kicking it as hard as he could into the sand demon's head. Shukaku reeled back, eyes crossing from the force of the blow.

"Leave Gaara alone!" Kitsune snarled at him, before he and Kurama pulled out of the bright plane. On the outside, only a fraction of a moment had passed by. Kitsune was still staring into Gaara's eyes, which had widened slightly, as if he had felt something happen.

"You never told me Shukaku was such an asshole." He muttered under his breath, making sure to get some distance between him and Gaara.

'**I thought you had already gathered as much from your friend's stories.**' Kurama ground out. He was pissed and had no way to act out. '**But I suppose I should have known better with you.**'

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kitsune hissed, careful to keep his voice down. He suddenly raised his voice, jumping back so that he stood in between Genma and Baki.

"Sorry, Gaara! Seems like we can't play anymore right now." He raised a hand apologetically. Gaara just slowly blinked. "Come find me when you come to Konoha for a rematch." His grin was a little strained underneath his mask; it was always draining to force a Bijuu to do _anything_.

The Sand shinobi were astounded to see Gaara slowly lower his arms and nod once, his face still as expressionless as always. Baki stared at the fox masked Konoha shinobi as he was dragged away by his comrade. Who the hell was that man? And why hadn't he ever heard of him?

. o . o . o . o . o .

Genma felt a strange mix of exasperation, incredulity and anger swirl through him as he rounded on his infuriating fellow Jounin. "What the fuck was that?"

"I already told you." Kitsune said calmly. "We were playing."

As if he hadn't just been running around dodging homicidal sand.

"Do you have any idea who that was?" Genma asked.

"Sabaku no Gaara." Kitsune stated evenly. He was glad he was wearing his mask, as a wide, albeit tired, grin was currently splitting his face. "He told me when I asked." He chirped.

Genma stared, slack jawed. "You actually talked to that monster?"

Kitsune went rigid. "Shut it." He growled. Genma flinched. He hadn't heard Kitsune sound anything but happy and laidback before. He immediately knew which he preferred.

"I've seen that kid kill people in his own village as if they're nothing." He continued mutedly. "Just because they've accidentally stepped in front of him."

"So? Shinobi and Kunoichi kill people all the time; it's part of this life." Kitsune shrugged, unconcerned. If the people of this village had treated Gaara better, he might not have turned into the killing machine they were now stuck with.

Genma realized that the man was a lost cause, and that this discussion was useless, so he gave up.

"I think I'll just go sleep for a few hours now." He sent Kitsune a sharp look. "Stay away from Gaara this time. On second thought, stay away from people in general." And he walked into his room.

Kitsune blinked after him a moment and then shrugged. Might as well catch up on some sleep, too; it was exhausting to play with an angry Jinchuuriki.

. o . o . o . o . o .

The rest of their stay, Genma made sure to keep Kitsune within his field of vision at all times outside of their rooms. Kitsune didn't know if it was more endearing or irritating. The man clearly wanted him to stay away from danger, but at the same time, didn't trust him to be able to take care of himself.

'**We knew this would happen, Kit.**' Kurama rumbled from the depths of his mind. '**That was the purpose.**'

'_I know._' Kitsune grumbled.

'**Now, focus!**' The fox said sternly. '**You're about to meet the Kazekage.**'

Kitsune sighed and dutifully straightened his back, taking his hands out of his pockets as Genma led the way into the Kage's office.

"Kazekage-sama." Genma and Kitsune chorused as they bowed in front of Gaara's father, the Yondaime Kazekage. The man eyed them steadily, his gaze lingering a fraction of a moment longer on Kitsune, before he gave them a cordial nod.

Kitsune spent the next five minutes listening to a few, polite exchanges and watched as Genma collected a number of scrolls from the man's desk.

"We will not meet again before the exams." The Kazekage finished. "Send my regard to the Hokage." His voice was almost as monotone as his son's. Genma gave another deep bow.

"Of course, Kazekage-sama. The Sandaime is well aware of the terms, and anticipates your arrival in Konohagakure no Sato." And he then ushered Kitsune out of the room. As soon as they were out in the sun, Genma let out a relieved sigh.

"That man gives me the creeps." He muttered almost too low for Kitsune to hear. He smiled sardonically. Well... he _had_ heard quite a bit about Gaara's father; he could understand.

"So why did he want me to join you?" He asked in a carefree voice.

Genma sent him an exasperated look. "My guess is he wanted to see who was stupid enough to pick a fight with the Jinchuuriki."

"Hm." Kitsune shrugged and then followed Genma to the gates at a leisurely pace.

. o . o . o . o . o .

Kitsune couldn't help but feel his spirits rise as he entered Konoha. The village just felt like home and reassured him he was not stuck in a war torn, grim future. As soon as they had reported to the Hokage, Kitsune and Genma split up and Kitsune went straight to his apartment. All he wanted right now was a shower and then a good night's rest.

The next morning, he quickly dressed, and then snuck out into the sleepy village. He spent the next few hours just strolling around the streets, watching people go about their way and soaking it all in. He spotted a number of tired shinobi going about their business; probably finishing a late shift or returning from a mission. He eventually ended up at a very familiar training field.

"Morning." He greeted as he appeared next to Kakashi, who was reclining on the branch of a large tree. The man was sitting with his book out, for all intents and purposes, immersed in his reading. His Genin team was going through a series of katas below. Kitsune looked them over and noted that Sasuke possessed a clinical precision lost on the other two.

"So, you're back." Kakashi greeted without looking at him. "How was Suna?"

"Oh, you know; hot, sandy." Kitsune smiled, leaning back, supporting his weight on his hands.

Kakashi hummed noncommittally and gave the man a quick glance.

They sat in companionable silence for a while, until Kakashi snapped his book shut and jumped down to his Genin, just when they were finishing the exercise.

"Alright then, I hope you're all ready for today's mission!" He began, eye smiling at his students.

"Hi, Kitsune!" Naruto grinned cheerfully, completely disregarding his sensei.

"Hello, Naruto. How're you doing?"

"Great! We're going to be participating in the Chuunin exam!" He revealed excitedly.

"Is that so?" Kitsune tilted his head, looking questioningly at Kakashi. He knew the answer, of course, but had trouble seeing Kakashi agree so readily.

"I didn't say that, Naruto." Kakashi corrected tiredly; this was most likely not the first time they had had this discussion. "I said that I would sign you up if you worked hard and were ready for it."

"We are!" Naruto objected sullenly. For once, Kitsune noticed, Sasuke seemed to agree with Naruto wholeheartedly.

"Meh." Kitsune said, sounding so far from impressed it was comical. Before Naruto could explode at him, Kitsune turned back to Kakashi. "I think I have to go. There's a tree somewhere screaming my name." He grinned.

Kakashi blinked and then gave him a quick eye smile. "See you around." He waved, without commenting.

A moment later, Kitsune was strolling down the road back towards the village, hands in his pockets, deep in thought.

The Chuunin exam.

Damn it. He'd have to decide what to do before that. Kitsune felt like smashing his head against a tree, thinking about all the things on the line here. The Chuunin exam had been the beginning of the end, he mused thoughtfully.

He was interrupted in his thoughts as he spotted something of interest in one of the training fields. Instantly, he felt a large grin stretching his lips.

. o . o . o . o . o .

It had been a normal day up until that point. The morning had been like always, but it quickly changed a few minutes after meeting up with Kurenai-sensei and her team.

One moment, Hinata had been standing next to Kiba, waiting for Kurenai-sensei to tell what the day's training would entail. The next, she had been sitting on an unfamiliar man's shoulders, clinging to his head just to avoid falling to the ground, which suddenly looked to be too far down. She could feel something smooth and cool under her fingers.

"Hi, Kurenai! I'll just borrow Hinata for a while!" The man stated happily, a hand raised in greeting. Hinata was too shocked to say anything. And apparently, so was Kurenai.

Before the man had shunshin'ed away, Hinata was fairly sure she had heard Kurenai-sensei exclaim. "Kitsune?!"

Five minutes later, Hinata was sitting on a stool next to the masked shinobi, fidgeting nervously.

"Well." Kitsune began pleasantly. "Just chose whatever you want to eat." He encouraged her, excitedly eyeing the menu.

Hinata glanced around the ramen stand, wondering what in the world was going on.

"E-Excuse me?" She began timidly, making an effort not to stutter.

Kitsune turned to give her his full attention. "Yes?"

"Wh-Who are y-you?"

"Oh, how rude of me!" Kitsune placed his elbow on the counter and supported his head with his hand, looking at her. "I'm Kitsune. A Jounin." He smiled down at the girl.

"O-Oh." Hinata felt her blush deepen a friction at the close scrutiny. Why in the world had this man taken her here? "Why a-am I...?" She couldn't really bring herself to question him outright.

"Why I brought you here?" Kitsune asked. Hinata nodded, once. "Well, I needed some company for lunch."

Hinata blinked her pearly eyes. That was it?

"Are the two of you ready to order?" Teuchi asked, smiling brightly at them both.

"Yes. I'd like a Miso ramen." Kitsune declared, putting down the menu. "What about you, Hinata-san?"

"S-Same." She managed to press out. She hadn't really looked at the menu.

"Two Miso ramen!" Teuchi repeated. "One moment."

Kitsune took the opportunity to look Hinata over discreetly. He felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him as he looked at the small girl.

"So what do you think of your Genin team?" He asked curiously.

Hinata spluttered nervously a moment, before she composed herself and slowly answered. "Kiba-kun a-always works hard." She began hesitantly. "A-And Shino-kun is v-very confident."

"And you?" Kitsune smiled.

Hinata felt her face heat up again and lowered her gaze to her hands. "I-I'm just..." Her timid voice quickly died.

"Mm." Kitsune hummed. "You seem like a very honest, hardworking young girl, Hinata-san." Kitsune stated confidently, smothering a chuckle as the girl's face grew even darker.

"N-Not re-really." Hinata objected feebly, trying to shrink into herself.

"But Hinata-san." Kitsune continued, pretending not to notice the girl's discomfort. "What really matters isn't really your abilities or what family you're part of, you know." He made a brief pause, smiling kindly at the girl. "Everyone has certain things that they're better at. What makes the difference between a great and mediocre shinobi or kunoichi is how much effort they put forth and their determination to change."

Hinata stared at the white porcelain mask covering the man's face. She could still see the glint of blue eyes behind the mask. Kitsune hummed quietly to himself until Teuchi came and placed one bowl of ramen in front of them both.

"Enjoy." The man smiled and then moved on to take a new order.

"Itadakimasu!" Kitsune said, splitting a pair of disposable chopsticks. "Come on, Hinata-san; you must eat to have energy to train." He urged her with a grin.

Hinata watched as Kitsune moved up his mask so that his mouth was exposed. She felt her eyes widen slightly as she spotted the scars. Two wide slashes across his face -from that she could see. One on his right cheek, the other from his mouth and down his chin on the other side. Slowly, she reached for her own chopsticks.

When Kitsune was done eating, he began to talk about his friend Kakashi, and his team. Which just happened to be Naruto's team. Hinata flushed dark red at the mention of her long-time crush. Kitsune noticed and began to ask her about it.

"You know, Hinata." He smiled, mouth still exposed. "Naruto is a bit of a knucklehead." He chuckled. "I don't think he notices much, at least not when it comes to girls." He glanced at her knowingly, catching the slightly depressed look on her face. "He's so used to people not liking him that I don't even think he's aware of the possibility that someone might do just that; liking him." He shrugged.

"B-But... he's g-gotten S-Sakura-s..." Hinata didn't know why she was talking about this. Normally, she'd be mortified by the mere mention of the subject.

"Sakura thinks Naruto is an idiot, and only gives him attention when she yells at him for insulting Sasuke." Kitsune informed calmly. "She doesn't have a chance against you, Hinata." He assured her, ignoring the poor girl's blush. "Naruto just needs some time to realize things and grow up a little."

Hinata thought that over. She had always watched Naruto, seen him struggle not only with his training, but against the entire village. She didn't know why people were so cold towards him, but just knew it wasn't right. Naruto tried so hard! It inspired her to work harder in her own training, despite her father's disappointment and the clan's silent disdain. She didn't know why this man was reassuring her like this, but could tell that he was honest and sincere.

"Th-thank you, Kitsune-san." She had almost gotten over her stutter now. Her voice was still small and sounding almost frightened.

Kitsune gave her a bright grin, and then pulled down his mask so that it rested properly on his face. "Shall we return you to your sensei now? I think she might be properly worried by now." He chuckled. Hinata made a horrified face. Kurenai-sensei! She had all but forgotten about training.

"She'll be so angry with me." She squeaked.

"Not at you." Kitsune assured her as he placed a few coins on the counter for their meal. "Thank you for the excellent meal, old man!" He called to Teuchi who grinned back.

"Come again, Kitsune-san." He called back, giving Hinata a small wink before turning to a customer who wanted his attention.

"Come on then, Hinata. Let's get you back to Kurenai so that your team can finish the day's mission."

"Alright." She got to her feet awkwardly. "So h-how-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as she was once again finding herself on the man's shoulders. This time, she actually let out a small, startled shriek. Kitsune just laughed and was then running over the rooftops at breakneck speed.

. o . o . o . o . o .

Hiruzen was just finishing a stack of paperwork when the door to his office slammed open. He looked up and felt his eyebrows rise a fraction at the sight of the intruder.

"Kurenai-san." He stated, surprised. The woman hadn't been his first guess, but was clearly agitated.

"That- that man!" She exclaimed irritably.

"Which one?" Hiruzen asked, faintly amused. Had someone tried to flirt shamelessly with her again?

"He actually came and kidnapped Hinata!" She scowled.

"Excuse me?" Hiruzen straightened in his seat. There had already been a kidnap attempt on the Hyuuga heiress once, and now Kurenai told him there had been another?

"Kitsune came and kidnapped her from my lesson!" Kurenai fumed, pacing the floor in front of his desk.

"I... see." Hiruzen slowly eased back into his chair. "And Hinata-chan is alright?"

"That's not the point!" Kurenai snapped. "She missed training, and I had no idea where she was! She's never even met Kitsune before; she must've been terrified!"

Ah. That must be the main reason behind Kurenai's anger. "And how is the Hyuuga heiress doing?"

"She's fine." Kurenai muttered, her scowl deepening.

Hiruzen let out a small sigh. "Would it help if I talk to Kitsune about this?"

"Yes." Kurenai bit out, not looking too happy about it. She looked like she wanted to beat the man senseless.

"So what did he do with her?" Hiruzen couldn't quite suppress his curiosity.

Kurenai was silent for a long time. "...Hinata said he took her to eat ramen and talked to her." She admitted grudgingly. "Which could be troubling." She gave him a meaningful glare, her red eyes boring into the Hokage's.

"I'm certain Kitsune had no ill intentions, Kurenai. But I'll talk to him." He assured tiredly.

"Good." She folded her arms over her chest. "Make sure that you do." She glared some more. "And tell him that I can't be accountable for my actions the next time I see him." The Genjutsu mistress added menacingly. Hiruzen simply nodded.

. o . o . o . o . o .

"Come in."

"You wanted to see me, Jiji?" Kitsune strolled into his office.

"Yes." He sighed and put down the brush he'd been using to sign his paperwork. "Sit down." He mentioned towards one of the chairs in front of his desk. He sounded unusually sombre. Kitsune blinked, looked him over once and then did as told.

"I had a rather agitated Jounin sensei in here some time ago." Hiruzen began evenly.

Kitsune broke into a grin. "Yeah. Kurenai wasn't particularly happy with me." He admitted easily. "She actually tried to gut me." He informed happily.

"Why do you sound so happy about this?" Hiruzen groaned. "Do you have any idea how much trouble tension between Jounin can cause?" He sent Kitsune an accusing look.

Kitsune just chuckled. "I just borrowed Hinata for a while." He shrugged it off.

"Yes, about that. What interest do you have in the young Hyuuga?"

Kitsune caught the old man's tone and his grin quickly died. He stared intently at the Sandaime a long time, his usually cheerful blue eyes now like chips of ice. His hands had curled into tight fists, something that wasn't lost on the Hokage.

"I made a promise to someone once. She told me that she wished there had been someone to help her find her confidence sooner, and that she'd had someone to nudge her along towards her goals." He made a brief pause. "She might be dead and gone, but the little Hyuuga remind me of her, and I will try my best to help her, in honour of my friend." He spoke silently, but his voice was firm. He didn't take kindly to such accusations. Hiruzen ought to have known. The true meaning of his words was also understood. Then the serious mood snapped suddenly as Kitsune finished with a grin. "And it's always fun to tick people off!" He sniggered. "I've never managed to get such a reaction out of Kurenai before." He laughed.

Hiruzen rubbed his hands over his face. "Fine. I guess no harm was done to the Hyuuga heiress." He admitted. "But Kitsune. You might want to watch your back for a few days, especially around Kurenai-san." He warned.

"I'm well aware." Kitsune waved the warning aside. "I might have to make it a daily occurrence to disturb Kurenai and her little team...?" He mused out loud.

Hiruzen groaned. "Please don't." He objected feebly. "Can't you find someone else to antagonize? What about Kakashi?"

"Oh, he's still on the list." Kitsune stated lightly, grinning widely. "We're making friends, you know."

"This is how you make friends?" Hiruzen picked up his brush again, reluctantly returning to his waiting paperwork.

"Of course." Kitsune gave him a strange look. "How else would I do it?" He asked, sounding as if he thought the Hokage was somewhat stupid.

"Please just... try not to get anyone killed." Hiruzen finished resignedly.

"No promises, Jiji." Kitsune chirped and then strolled out.

. o . o . o . o . o .


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4  
**

Kitsune walked into the meeting room, looking around curiously. It was filled with Jounin gathered in small groups, talking mutedly among each other as they waited for the Hokage to arrive. Kakashi was obviously not here yet -since the meeting hadn't even started yet, and Kakashi made a point to always be late- so he walked over to a stretch of empty wall, leaning against it. Kitsune shoved his hands into his pockets, idly listening to the murmured conversations all around him. It was rather peaceful, he decided. The gathered Jounin -and the occasional Tokubetsu Jounin- all quieted when the aged Hokage entered. He looked them all over briefly and then cleared his throat.

Kitsune felt his attention drift as the old man's voice filled the room. Thoughts of the upcoming Chuunin exam filled his mind, making plans and musing on what he would dare to change. He was sorely tempted to just outright kill the slimy bastard. It wouldn't be easy, though; Orochimaru was many things, but weak wasn't one of them.

"Kitsune?" A voice pulled him back to the present.

"What?" Kitsune blinked, focusing on the man in front of him. He quickly realised that the meeting must be over. Kakashi had joined them some time during the Hokage's speech and was reclining against the wall next to him, book in hand. Asuma stood in front of him, hands in his pockets.

"So is it true?" He repeated his question, looking faintly amused. Kitsune blinked. He had obvious missed one question already. That didn't stop him from quickly answering.

"Of course not."

"It isn't? I heard it from Genma himself." Asuma frowned.

"Wait, what? What are you talking about?"

"Your mission in Suna. The thing with the Ichibi Jinchuuriki?" Asuma sounded doubtful at best.

"Oh, that. Yeah." Kitsune grinned.

"Wait, what did you think I was talking about?" Asuma narrowed his eyes.

"Nothing." Kitsune blinked innocently, and then quickly stepped away from a rather vicious looking kunai making its way for his abdomen.

Kurenai glared darkly at Kitsune as he simply stretched, pretending like there hadn't just been an attempt on his life. Asuma looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

"Kurenai... What are you-"

"I have no idea how you got off the hook so easily." Kurenai hissed at the masked man.

Kitsune just gave a lazy shrug. "You need to relax, Kurenai-san. It's not as if I'm dangerous." He quipped. He could hear Kurama laugh in the back of his mind. At least not to them; for his enemies, though...

"Did I miss something?" Asuma looked honestly lost, looking between his lover and Kitsune and back again.

"Apparently," Kakashi spoke without looking up from his book. "Kitsune borrowed one of Kurenai's students for an hour the other day."

"Wow." Kitsune turned to stare at Kakashi. "Are you_ stalking_ me?" He made sure to make his voice sound perfectly serious. "I might have to take that up with the Sandaime, you know." He made a brief pause, enjoying their speechless looks. "I'll have you know I'm not really into men like that." He patted Kakashi comfortingly on his shoulder, taking vindictive satisfaction from the man's twitching eye.

"What? I-I-" Kakashi spluttered, straightening his back.

"Really? I heard you're very fond of all kind of games." Another voice joined their small circle, arms wrapping around Kitsune's waist. He would have stiffened, if he hadn't recognized the familiar chakra signature.

"Of course." Kitsune grinned. "Games are fun. Don't you agree, Anko-chan?"

The Kunoichi had been in the process of walking up to stand next to him, but froze as the last word fell from his lips. Her face was painted with pure, utter shock. And she wasn't the only one. The four ninja around him were all staring at him with different levels of shock and, in some cases, growing dread and disbelief. Kakashi sent Anko a wary glance before turning to meet Kitsune's gaze. His blue eyes, shadowed by the mask, were sparkling with suppressed mirth. A deep, angry flush was spreading up Anko's neck and making its way onto her cheeks. Just as she sucked in a breath to scream at him, possibly throw a few punches too, Kitsune chuckled.

"Bye!" He raised a single hand lazily and then shunshin'ed away. Kakashi blinked, shared a look with Asuma and then quickly followed suit; leaving the women to rage on their own.

_No one_ called Anko 'chan'. At least not without serious repercussions.

Kakashi quickly appeared next to Kitsune, who was now strolling down the street towards the training grounds without a care in the world.

"Was that really necessary?" He asked calmly. "You know you'll now have _two_ pissed Kunoichi on your ass?"

"Oh, she'll get over it." Kitsune chuckled. "She was trying to ruffle my feathers; she'll have to suit herself."

Kakashi silently agreed.

"So how's the team doing?"

"They're actually better at the whole teamwork thing." Kakashi replied, amusement colouring his voice. "They only end up in fights two or three times a day now."

"Progress!" Kitsune exclaimed, laughing. Kakashi hummed, turning a page in his book. He felt surprisingly content, walking next to the fox masked shinobi. It felt as if the man didn't mind his quirks in the least, and Kakashi was oddly pleased by it. When they reached Kakashi's destination, Kitsune spoke up again.

"Well, I have to go. I have an appointment with the Hokage."

"Does he know that?" Kakashi asked, bemused. He sent Kitsune an amused glance.

"I'll let him know when I see him. See you around, Kakashi." Kitsune slapped him gently on the back and then shunshin'ed away. Kakashi idly wondered why the man had bothered to walk here from the Hokage tower just to go back again. He didn't have time to ponder the question long, however.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Two voices chorused from the training field in front of him.

"I had to help a small lady home after she was almost run over by a cart." Kakashi eye smiled at his three Genin.

"Lies!" Naruto and Sakura glared at him, while Sasuke just scowled like always. It was strangely reassuring how some things never changed.

. o . o . o . o . o .

Walking out of the Hokage's office, Kitsune slowly made his way out into the village. He felt tired and wrung out from the extended talk he had just instigated. He needed to unwind. He quickly made his way to his number one favourite spot. There was nothing like Ichiraku Ramen to sooth a troubled mind. Taking a seat and placing his order, Kitsune then thought about the coming weeks.

"Here you go, Kitsune-san." Teuchi smiled as he placed a bowl of steaming hot ramen in front of him.

"Itadakimasu." Kitsune murmured eagerly, pushing up his mask to free his mouth and then dug in. Fifteen minutes and another downed bowl later, he was leaning his back against the counter contently. Maybe he was over-thinking this entire thing?

'**Sorry to disappoint you, Kit. But I don't think so.**' Kurama said. '**Everything that went wrong began with the exam.**'

'_Thanks. Not like I should feel any pressure or anything._' Kitsune muttered back. He was staring out at the pedestrians making their way up and down the street, not really seeing them.

'**And it's not like it will get better by your brooding, either.**' Kurama continued dryly.

'_I'm not brooding!_' Kitsune objected indignantly.

'**Really?**' The great fox did not sound convinced. '**Then what are you doing?**'

'_Uh... Thinking?_' He hated how it sounded more like a question than a statement. He relented with a huff. '_Fine; I'm brooding. Happy now?_'

'**Not at all.**' Came the Kyuubi's un-amused reply. '**Would it make you feel better if I told you I can sense a great distraction at the gates to the village?**'

'_What kind of distraction?_' Kitsune had far too much experience with Kurama not to be wary of anything the fox said that sounded even remotely positive.

'**Relax. It's something you'll like.**' He assured his host, taking no small amount of pleasure from the human's wariness.

'_You DO know that the last time you said that, I ended up with three broken ribs and a concussion, right?_'

'**This is nothing like last time... Honest.**'

Kitsune wasn't convinced, but decided that, good or bad, he could do well with some distraction from his depressing mood. He had never been one to think too much, anyway.

'_Fine. The gate, you said?_'

'**Yes. Just go in that general direction, and I'm sure we'll come across them.**' Kitsune rolled his eyes as he could practically _see_ the old fox rubbing his hands together in anticipation. All that was missing was an evil laugh in the background... On second thought, he really didn't want to hear that. Kurama could be rather frightening when he put in an effort. And not frightening as in, giant fucking demon fox ready to crush a village with the swing of my tails- frightening. No, Kurama was surprisingly good at playing the part of bored, mad scientist meets crazy matchmaker. Kitsune suppressed a shudder. It was never good when Kurama got into one of those moods. For him. Kurama found it all hilarious. But then again; he _had_ spent who knew how long sealed inside humans. There was only so much you could do inside someone else's mind. Kitsune was well aware of the fact that he wasn't the first Uzumaki to have been the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki.

As it turned out, Kitsune found the fox had been right. His entire being lit up as he spotted what Kurama had sensed.

"Hi!" He greeted the trio happily as he dropped down from a nearby tree.

"You!" Kankuro glared at him, while Temari simply cast him a disinterested look. Kitsune grinned, shunshin'ed up to Gaara to ruffle his hair. He then quickly jumped away again, before his hand could get crushed to bloody pulp.

"How was the trip here?" Kitsune asked, pretending like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Now, Temari was staring at him. Even Izumo and Kotetsu, who were on guard duty, stared. Kotetsu was gaping like a fish, while Izumo looked much more dignified.

"Eh, Kitsune? What are you doing?" Izumo asked carefully.

"I'm greeting a friend." Kitsune quipped back, eyes not leaving Gaara's impassive face.

"I have no friends." Gaara stated in his usual monotone.

"Hm." Kitsune hummed. "How about that rematch, then? Interested?" He tilted his head, making him look like an eager child.

Instead of answering, Gaara simply directed his sand to rush at Kitsune's face. Kitsune easily dodged and wiggled a finger in the child's face. "Ah, ah, ah." He smiled. "First, we need to go over the rules." He stated. As if that was obvious. Gaara studied him pensively. Kitsune took that as a cue to continue. "No involving anyone other than you and me. Understood? No bothering the civilians. I'm your only target." Kitsune quickly ticked them off on his fingers. that should be enough, shouldn't it?

For the first time, Kitsune noticed Baki. The man was standing slightly behind the three Genin, staring at Kitsune as if he had grown a second head.

Gaara gave a small, almost imperceptible nod, and then attacked him viciously with his sand. Kitsune laughed and jumped out of the way.

Kotetsu glanced at his friend. "That... Did that just happen?" He whispered faintly.

"Yeah." Came the slow, drawn out answer. Izumo didn't tear his eyes away from the spot where Kitsune and the sand kid had disappeared from.

"Just sign us in so we can go and find him before he kills someone." Kankuro muttered. Baki silently agreed. But, he had never seen Gaara so... calm?

Temari turned to stare incredulously at her Jounin sensei. "I heard the rumor about that insane Konoha shinobi that played tag with Gaara. I didn't believe them. Are you telling me they're true?"

"Yes." Baki answered calmly.

"He played tag with your teammate?" Kotetsu couldn't help but blurt out.

"Yes." Baki answered again.

"But why tag? I heard he did that with Kakashi, too." Izumo mumbled, pulling out the correct forms from a drawer.

"Yeah, I saw them." Kotetsu chuckled nervously. "I never thought I'd see Kakashi look that frustrated." He snorted. Izumo just sighed and handed the papers over to Baki, together with a pen.

"Please sign these, and I'll hand you your passes." Baki accepted the pen and began to jot down their information.

. o . o . o . o . o .

Kitsune couldn't suppress his laughter as he ran around, dodging Gaara's sand. It reminded him of old times, when he and Gaara had sparred on a regular basis.

...until Gaara had died, sacrificing himself for what remained of his village.

People stared at them as they rushed passed. Some civilians even chuckled at their apparent careless playfulness. Kitsune startled a group of ANBU who were training in a open and barren training ground as he dodged a heavy assault of sand. He dodged behind a pair of shinobi, one with an owl mask, the other with a cat.

"The rules." Gaara reminded him.

"Right. Sorry!" Kitsune laughed and bound away, tearing through training ground after training ground. "Hi, Kakashi!" He greeted the grey haired shinobi as he jumped into a tree. Gaara was right on his heels, studying his every move. The kid was breathing heavily by now, but didn't otherwise look affected by their chase.

"Kitsune? What are you doing?" Kakashi asked incredulously. "Is that a Suna shinobi?"

"Yep." Kitsune sniggered, dodging another sand sledgehammer. "Gaara, meet my friend Kakashi." Kitsune introduced the speechless man before he sped off again. He was distantly aware of the fact that Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were staring wide-eyed at them. Eventually, he let Gaara 'catch' him in an empty training ground. Kitsune chuckled as Gaara slapped a loose clump of sand against his back. The kid slumped down on the ground, exhausted.

"Here." He handed over a bottle of water to the young Jinchuuriki. Gaara eyed it suspiciously a moment, before lifting his gaze to stare Kitsune in the eyes. "It's not as if it's been poisoned." He assured him. "Look, would you drink if I drank some first?"

Gaara seemed to contemplate that a moment and then gave a miniscule nod. Kitsune smiled as he pushed up his mask just enough to let him drink. He opened the bottle with a snap and then took a large mouthful of cold water. Nothing tasted as good as cold water after a training session. After he had swallowed the liquid, he waited a minute -to show he wasn't dying- and then handed over the bottle. Gaara had been watching him like a hawk the entire time.

Kitsune was very pleased when Gaara accepted the bottle. He ignored the fact that he then sniffed the water and tested it for poison in a number of ways, before taking a small, cautious sip. His facial expression didn't change, but he seemed surprised nonetheless.

"It's not poisoned." He stared blankly.

"I know." Kitsune flopped down on the ground next to him.

Gaara studied the strange shinobi as he drank. He hadn't been this tired in a very long time, but the Jounin barely looked winded. He remembered their last meeting, but hadn't thought the man to stay true to his words. Gaara wondered why this man could get so close to him without his sand reacting. It was truly perplexing. The fox masked shinobi even sat beside him as if he had no worries in the world. Was he simply stupid? Was that it? Didn't he understand what Gaara was, what he could do? Gaara silently contemplated the question. It wasn't until Baki and his teammates turned up that the answer dawned on him.

This man didn't exude any killing intent in his presence. At all. On top of that, Gaara couldn't sense any fear. This fox masked man didn't have an ounce of fear for him, the demon of the sand, the Ichibi's Jinchuuriki. Gaara slowly blinked. People always feared him, always had. He could feel it from Temari and Kankuro. Even from Baki.

A Konoha ANBU suddenly appeared behind Kitsune and Gaara. The new presence immediately triggered Gaara's ultimate defence, and Baki had to swallow a curse as the sand rushed the surprised woman.

Kitsune moved before anyone could utter a sound, however; yanking the ANBU out of the sand's path. Gaara blinked. He hadn't seen him move.

"Was it me you wanted to talk to?" Kitsune asked the ANBU happily.

"Y-Yeah." The ANBU kunoichi answered, not quite able to keep her voice the usual unwavering monotone after having almost been yanked off her feet. She sent a suspicious look at the four Suna ninja. "The Hokage demands your presence." She quickly gathered her wits about her, pushing Kitsune's hand away from her shoulder. "Immediately." She was all back to cold professionalism now.

"Well, it was fun seeing you again, Gaara. I must go, but good luck on the exam." He grinned at the boy. "You two as well." He nodded to Kankuro and Temari and then left, leaving nothing but a few swirling leaves in his wake, the ANBU half a step behind him.

Temari and Kankuro exchanged a quick glance before eyeing Gaara warily. Without a word, Gaara got to his feet and acted as if nothing at all out of the ordinary had happened.

. o . o . o . o . o .

Shikaku sat in his chair, leaning back and lazily studying the rest of the room's occupants. To all those who happened to look his way, he appeared to be perfectly relaxed and barely paying attention to what was going on around him. His friends knew better. They were in the middle of a Council meeting, mainly concerning the last minute details of the Chuunin exam, which was only two days away now. Shikaku had been one of the first to notice the small bird, along with Hyuuga Hiashi and the Hokage. The Sandaime had quickly accepted the scroll, a grim expression settling over his features as he read the short message. The Council soon found themselves discussing something far more serious and pressing than the Village perimeter guard routine. The Hokage had spoken a few, brief words with one of his ANBU, presumably sending for whoever he wanted for this mission. When the door opened to let in a masked Jounin, Shikaku found himself straightening slightly in his chair. This man was under his command, Shikaku being the Jounin Commander and all, yet he didn't know too much about him. It wasn't that unusual, especially since the man had previously been ANBU. But Shikaku was a very curious person -had always been- and couldn't help but being drawn to any mysteries presented to him.

As he watched the man enter the room, he caught a subtle movement from the corner of his eyes. His long time friend and old teammate, Yamanaka Inoichi -the head of the Yamanaka clan- had given the Jounin a small nod. A sure sign of respect.

Interesting.

Inoichi might have retired from his position as the head of T&I, but he was still a veteran shinobi at heart. And somehow, this man had gained Inoichi's respect.

Shikaku had, of course, heard quite a bit about Kitsune. It was hard not to, since he was the talk of the Village's shinobi. ANBU and Jounin could gossip worse than old women, and from what he had heard, Kitsune was a man unable to take anything seriously and an outright idiot. Apparently, the man didn't have any sense of self-preservation and had picked a fight not only with Hatake Kakashi, the Copy-nin, but also Suna's Jinchuuriki. Shikaku had heard many complain about his carefree attitude and clueless, obnoxious behaviour.

What Shikaku saw before him didn't match that description at all.

Kitsune walked into the room in a relaxed manner, hands in his pockets. Yet, Shikaku could not hear a sound from the man, not even the rustling of clothes. The man had almost suppressed his chakra signature completely, making him very difficult to sense and from his posture, Shikaku knew he would be able to have a kunai in hand in the blink of an eye.

"Kitsune." The Hokage spoke up, voice calm, yet carrying a certain sense of urgency.

Kitsune straightened. "Hokage-sama."

Shikaku watched with some amusement, as the relaxed yet competent killer transformed into a battle hardened veteran.

And he was certain that was what he was. A veteran. Despite the fact that his face was hidden by a mask, he could see his eyes glittering ominously. They were hard, unrelenting and ready for anything the world might throw at him. Shikaku looked around the room and had to suppress a snort. This man had everyone fooled. He shot his friend a quick glance. Except, perhaps, Inoichi. And the Hokage.

The Sandaime looked like he trusted Kitsune completely.

"I have a mission for you. A rescue mission for one of our spies, Hiroki Yuka." He began briskly. "She's been captured in a border town in Iwa, and needs to be brought home as quickly as possible."

Kitsune eyed the Hokage a moment, accepting the newly written mission-scroll the man handed him. He read through it quickly.

"Is there no one more capable for you to send on this?" He asked, keeping his voice muted and respectful. He had spoken to the Hokage about the Chuunin exam this very morning, and had told him almost everything that was about to happen. He had told him about Orochimaru and the invasion, had told him about Sasuke. And he was sending him on a mission, just two days before?

Hiruzen gave Kitsune a knowing look. "There is no one better. We can't afford to send a large team on this, and it needs to be taken care of quickly." His voice was firm. He had every belief in Kitsune to be able to come back in time for the exam.

Kitsune grimaced under his mask and read through the scroll again. This spy sat on vital information. She had been on her way back from an extended mission, only to be caught right before the border... That must be frustrating.

"I will send two Chuunin with you, as back-up."

There were more than one pair of raised eyebrows in the room at that. The Sandaime wasn't even sending a full team? With _this_ Jounin? Shikaku hid a smirk with his hand. Hiruzen continued as if he didn't notice the unrest in the room.

"One tracker, and one medic."

Kitsune nodded.

"A request, sir."

"Speak it."

"Make the medic female." Kitsune said. He was already planning this thing; he _would_ get back in time to do what he had to.

Shikaku raised an eyebrow. An idiot?... This village was filled with imbeciles. Not many people thought ahead far enough to think of that. It was unfortunate, but kunoichi that were captured where not treated... kindly.

"Done." Hiruzen flashed Kitsune a brief, almost imperceptible smile. "Any other issues? Good. I will send for the two Chuunin and you will meet at the gate in two hours." Kitsune executed a sharp salute and then disappeared in a small swirl of smoke.

Shikaku traced one of the scars on his face with a finger. Who was this man? He cast a look at the Hokage, then at his friend. They trusted him implicitly, and had quite a bit of faith in his abilities. He'd have to study this puzzle more closely once this entire ordeal was over with.

"Let's get back to the meeting." Hiruzen cleared his throat.

"Yes." One of the Hokage's advisors agreed. "About the night shift...-"

Shikaku quickly let his mind wander, as the mind-numbingly boring topic was resumed.

. o . o . o . o . o .

"Kakashi!" A familiar, but at the same time strange voice called out. Kakashi straightened in his seat, unconsciously tucking his book away without a second thought.

"Kitsune." He greeted, hiding his surprise. "What's wrong?"

"I have a mission." The man said, landing soundlessly next to the relaxed Jounin. "I'm leaving the Village in a few minutes."

Kakashi wondered why the man was wasting precious minutes to come here, but said nothing as he waited for him to continue. It was obvious Kitsune wanted to say something more.

"If I don't make it back in time for the exam..." Kitsune struggled with himself. How much could he afford to say?

Kitsune took a deep breath. "Keep an eye on them, alright? Make sure they stay safe." He waved a hand vaguely in the direction of team 7.

If Kitsune hadn't said it so seriously, he would have been sure the man was trying to pull a prank on him again. Instead, Kakashi studied him intently a moment. His shoulders were slightly raised, tense, and he looked ready to pull out his weapons any moment. He felt a small frown creep onto his features. How dangerous was this mission?

"You _are_ planning on coming back...?" The real question was left unspoken.

Kitsune gave a tight nod. "Of course."

Kakashi's eye narrowed, but he said nothing. "Good luck on your mission, then. I'll make sure to keep an extra close eye on my cute little students." He assured with an eye smile.

Kitsune gave a nod, and the tenseness in his shoulders eased a fraction.

"Good. And I'll try to get back in time." The last words were spoken softly, and Kakashi almost missed them. He didn't, however, and was immediately on edge. That... sounded ominous. Before he could question the man, Kitsune was gone. Kakashi stared at the spot his new friend had just vacated. For some reason, he felt like swearing.

Kakashi never swore.

His gaze drifted over to his students, who were currently pulling weeds from a civilian's vegetable garden. He would definitely keep a close eye on them.

. o . o . o . o . o .

Kitsune was jumping from tree branch to tree branch, mind focused on the task at hand. It would take the better part of the day to reach the border to Iwa. Once there, they would have to find their captured spy, free her and then make it back to Konoha. All in time for Kitsune to take care of Orochimaru. He could clearly recall his conversation with the old man.

Hiruzen hadn't exactly been happy when Kitsune had asked for a private audience just to declare that he was going to kill a Konoha Genin during the exam.

Kitsune felt his mouth twist into a smirk under his mask. Kabuto would _not_ survive the exam. He'd make sure of it.

After a lengthy explanation, the old Hokage had agreed, and even urged Kitsune to go through with the plan.

But then he went and sent Kitsune on this stupid mission.

Alright, it wasn't stupid. He was going to save a fellow Konoha shinobi from a horrible fate. Captured enemy nin were not treated nicely. Kunoichi even less so. He had listened to Sakura rant about that countless times as she worked in the field hospital.

They didn't slow until long after it was dark. Kitsune eventually stopped, just outside a small village on the wrong side of the border. They were in Iwa now. Enemy territory.

"You, Hyuuga." Kitsune mentioned for the male Chuunin. "It's your job to find her. Once you've located her, I'll do the rest." He instructed. There was no time to waste.

The man gave him a somewhat odd look, but didn't object or comment. He immediately activated his Kekkei Genkai. Kitsune turned to the medic while the Hyuuga worked.

"Please prepare for the worst. I want you ready when I bring her out."

The woman, Kana, nodded once. Her face was grim, fully understanding what her task entailed.

"Kitsune-san." The Hyuuga spoke up softly twenty minutes later. "I have located the enemy holding facilities. They're buried in the rock on the outskirts of the town." He said. Kitsune gave him his full attention as the man continued to brief him on the layout of the place, including where Hiroki Yuka was most likely being held. Kitsune nodded and then set off.

"Be prepared to leave the moment I return." He warned.

This would be tricky. Kitsune's affinity was wind; which was not easily used underground. Iwa shinobi, however, were most commonly affiliated with earth chakra.

"This is going to suck." He muttered to himself, before pushing all other thoughts aside.

. o . o . o . o . o .

"She needs immediate medical attention." His voice was low and urgent. Hiroki Yuka was not in good condition. Kitsune suppressed a furious grimace. The medic set to work right away, swearing quietly under her breath as she saw the extension of her fellow kunoichi's injuries. Kitsune turned to the Hyuuga, tilting his head questioningly.

"They're not following."

"Good. I created enough chaos that they won't be able to begin tracking us for another few hours, hopefully." Kitsune muttered grimly. He watched as Hiroki was slowly patched back together. He hated missions like this; it always made him furious. Sakura had once told him that it simply was one of the risks of being a kunoichi. Twenty minutes later, Kitsune deemed they had waited as long as they could afford.

"Is she in any immediate danger of bleeding to death or permanent injury?" He asked the medic reluctantly.

"No." She relented darkly.

"Well, then. We need to get back to Konoha. The faster she gets to a proper hospital, the better." He breathed and gently picked the woman up. Instead of putting her on his back, as was the norm, he held her firmly in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. The Hyuuga sent him a curious look, while the medic nin sent him a soft, approving one. "Let's go."

And again they were off.

Kitsune could admit that it was uncomfortable, and getting heavier by the hour, but he would not change his mind. Another discomfort he was ignoring was his bloodstained clothes and mask. The smell stuck to him like an intrusive reminder of the war he had come from. It made him feel unclean. So far from his twelve year old self who was still in Konoha, about to take a step towards becoming a Chuunin in just a few hours.

When they had travelled a couple of hours, he could hear and feel the kunoichi's breath grow even shallower.

"Alright. We'll stop here for the night." He sighed, looking around. It would be morning soon. The Hyuuga nodded and dropped to the forest floor in search of a good camp site. Kitsune followed and soon lay Hiroki down on a blanket. The medic, Kana, hurried over to look her over and tend to injuries that might have worsened during their run. Kitsune respectfully turned his back when Kana began to strip the kunoichi down for a more thorough examination.

"I brought a spare uniform. You can use it for her." He threw a storage scroll over his shoulder, and heard how it struck against skin as Kana caught it.

"Thank you." Came Kana's muted response. Kitsune gave a neutral hum as his only response.

When the Hyuuga returned, he had a pair of rabbits dangling from one hand, and set to start a fire to cook them. Kitsune created three kage bunshin, which used henge to transform into local wildlife to keep watch.

"Are you injured?" Kana asked, eyeing his bloody clothing with a critical gaze.

"Nothing serious." Kitsune waved her off. Kana, however, wasn't deterred in the least.

"Show me; I'll heal them." She gave him a sharp glare, as if daring him to argue. Kitsune was about to do just that, but quickly thought better of it, as he remembered what was waiting for him when they made it back to Konoha.

He let out a heavy sigh. "Fine." He pulled down the sipper on the flakvest and then took it off. Once it was placed next to him on the grass, he pulled up the hem of his shirt, revealing a grazing stab wound that had slashed him low on the side, almost down on the hip. Kana didn't comment, but placed a hand over it right away, focusing her glowing, green healing chakra on the wound. Kitsune breathed a little easier as he felt the sharp sting fade away.

"Anywhere else?"

Kitsune rolled up the leg on his dark pants without a word. One of the guards had managed to stab him with a kunai in the thigh. It had been cramped in the corridors, and the frequent use of earth techniques had made things difficult.

Kana washed her hands with water from her water bottle once she was done. "There. Remember to be careful, or the injuries might open up again." She reminded, as if in passing. They were on a mission, and it wasn't always possible to let injuries rest as you could in the village, though.

Kitsune just gave a near-silent, affirmative grunt.

"I'll take the first watch. You two should eat and get some sleep." The Hyuuga spoke softly.

"Alright. I'll take the second watch." Kitsune said, and continued before Kana could protest. "You'll need to be well rested in case something happens to our charge." He pointed at Hiroki. Kana closed her mouth and nodded reluctantly.

As soon as he had eaten, Kitsune leaned against the trunk of a tree to sleep. The Hyuuga and Kana sent him curious looks, but said nothing about it. Almost all Jounin had a number of quirks, so who were they to judge?

. o . o . o . o . o .

**Hmm... Things are getting interesting, don't you think? :)  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5  
**

'_Fuck. We're late!_' Kitsune grumbled to himself.

'**The woman would never have been able to withstand the journey without rest.**' Kurama, ever the voice of reason -and wasn't that ironic?- replied calmly.

'_I know that._' Kitsune grumbled. '_I just CAN'T be late, Kurama!_' Kitsune was working himself up to angry.

'**I know, Kit.**' Kurama soothed. '**Deep breaths.**'

Kitsune growled. It was after midday. Hiroki had woken up a few hours after the sun had risen, and had been completely hysterical. She had tried to get away, and was utterly terrified of Kitsune and Hyuuga. Kana had been forced to knock her out. Not that that had been a particularly easy task. Desperate shinobi were _very_ dangerous. Not only that, but they were travelling much slower with the unconscious kunoichi than they had on the way out. They would not get back to Konoha today. He just had to come to terms with that.

And the exam began tomorrow.

Shit.

'**You can still make it. It's not until the second task that Orochimaru strikes. That's sometime in the afternoon, isn't it?**' Kurama reminded him.

'_Yes._' Kitsune snapped. '_But it's such a long time ago, I can't be sure._' He was so frustrated with himself. Why hadn't Sakura been sent back? Or Sasuke? He was sure they remembered everything, every small detail, from their Genin days. They would have known exactly what to do, while Kitsune was just fumbling about in the dark. He let out a mental scream.

Kurama sighed. He knew there was nothing he could do to help his friend with this, so he remained silent this time.

"Kitsune-san. I think she's about to wake up again." Kana spoke up from where she was running beside him, keeping a close eye on their charge. The medic sounded exhausted, but was keeping up with Kitsune's relatively fast pace. Without further delay, Kitsune jumped to the forest floor and carefully set the kunoichi down. He then backed away a considerable distance and watched as Kana placed her hands on Hiroki's temples. Hyuuga stood silently beside him.

Kana did her best to sooth the waking kunoichi, but still couldn't stop the woman from flinching violently and almost screaming when she spotted the two men. Kana took out her water bottle and eventually managed to prod the woman into taking a drink. She tried to take advantage of the opportunity and give her a soldier pill as well, but Hiroki refused.

"Probably drugged her." Kitsune muttered tiredly. He was_ so_ hurting someone for all of this. Preferably the Sandaime. _Why_ was he on this mission again?

"Most likely." Hyuuga agreed.

Kana soon gave up and quickly and expertly worked her hands back to Hiroki's temples to force her back asleep.

"Alright." She said, getting to her feet and brushing some dirt off her knees. "She's out like a light."

"How about you? Good to go?" Kitsune asked as he briskly scooped the unconscious woman up from the grass.

Kana gave him a sharp nod and a glare, as if daring him to say she couldn't keep up. Kitsune just shrugged, unapologetic. He cast Hyuuga a questioning glance, but the man spoke up before he could pose his question.

"Let's go."

Kitsune nodded and clamped down on his growing frustration, settling for glaring ahead. They were going almost painfully slow.

'**Deep breaths.**' Kurama rumbled softly. Kitsune didn't deign him with an answer. Instead, he focused a small portion of chakra into his aching arms, to help ease the tired muscles; unconscious humans were ridiculously heavy.

. o . o . o . o . o .

"Will you two be able to take her to the hospital on your own?" Kitsune asked as they approached the gates.

"Yes." Hyuuga answered without hesitating.

"Then I'll go and report." Kitsune nodded. Just inside the gates, he handed the unconscious kunoichi over to the Hyuuga and was then off.

Kitsune was beyond stressed.

It was afternoon. He wasn't sure of the exact time, he just knew he couldn't waste another minute. So, instead of going to the Hokage tower -as he probably should- Kitsune raced towards the Forest of Death. He didn't pause for anything until he reached the edge of the looming, dark treeline.

A distinct, feral-sounding growl escaped his lips as he waited. His muscles were taunt, ready for action the moment his bunshin dispelled. Kitsune closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to focus on the task at hand.

His eyes flew open and he was off the second his kage bunshin dispelled. He had made one the moment they had spotted Konoha in the distance, and had left it sitting in the woods, gathering nature chakra.

So when his eyes snapped open under his mask, they were yellow with horizontal pupils, like the eyes of a toad.

He could sense the numerous teams moving through the forest, all of his old friends, as well as the foreigners. He could feel every single chakra signature. And what he felt made his blood boil. Kitsune pushed himself to go even faster.

. o . o . o . o . o .

Sakura had never been so frightened in her entire life. Not even when Zabuza had captured Kakashi-sensei in the water prison had she been this scared. Her legs were shaking so bad, she could barely keep herself up. This, this... person had _bitten_ Sasuke! He was so strong, yet he was toying with them. Naruto was unconscious because of something the snake man had done too, and now there was only her left.

She was near tears, and she didn't know what to do!

All of a sudden, the man froze. If you could even call him that; he looked far from human at the moment.

Sakura felt her eyes widen as the man abruptly dropped Sasuke, his eyes narrowed, staring off in the distance.

"I'll leave you now, Sasuke-kun." He smiled down at the writhing boy. "But I'm sure I'll see you again."

Sakura shivered at the look he was giving Sasuke, sickened by the twisted adoration. And then he simply seemed to melt into the tree branch he had been standing on. Sakura stared for all of a moment, before jumping to her teammate's side.

"Sasuke-kun!" She tried to pry his fingers off of his neck, where the man had bitten him, but couldn't. "What did he do?" She sobbed once, helplessly.

"Where did he go?" The snarl made her jump and raise a kunai defensively. She hadn't heard anyone approach. She blinked up at a pale, familiar porcelain mask.

It was Kitsune, but she barely recognized him. Sakura hadn't honestly thought much of the silly shinobi that sometimes came to training and bothered Kakashi-sensei. He had always had an air of carefree fun and -Sakura thought- incompetence around him. This man standing in front of her, this shinobi, was nothing but a lethal killer.

"Where did he go?" Kitsune repeated, eyes scanning the trees around them. Damn Orochimaru! The snake had already made his escape.

"He- H-He just... s-sank into the t-tree." Sakura managed to stutter out. She flinched when Kitsune growled. It sounded like an animal!

"Fuck!" Kitsune punched the nearest tree trunk. It cracked under the force. Sakura stared, wide-eyed. He then took a deep breath, obviously making an effort to calm down. "Come on, Sakura-san. I'll help you get them down to ground level. I'm afraid I can't help you any more than that." He turned to look down on the girl. She was so young. Nothing like the strong, confident woman he remembered. Not yet.

"O-Oh." Sakura tried to compose herself. Her eyes snapped to Sasuke, when the boy suddenly stopped moving. "Sasuke-kun!" She exclaimed, leaning over him.

"He's unconscious." Kitsune said. He didn't have to check on the boy to know that, not with nature chakra coursing through his body. "He's in a bad state." He wasn't going to lie.

"What did that m-man do?" Sakura's breathing was growing rapid and shallow. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Take a deep breath." Kitsune instructed. "Let it out slowly, and relax. Let the two of them sleep." He eyed her seriously.

He still couldn't believe he had been too late. Sasuke had been marked. He could see the dark seal on his skin already, staring mockingly back at him. It showed off his failure for the world to see.

"Can you get down on your own?" He looked Sakura over with a critical eye. How in the world had she managed to get them down on her own in his time?

"Y-Yeah."

"Good. Then get down there, and I'll get these two." He jerked his head towards Sasuke and Naruto, both lying lifelessly on the tree branch. Sakura nodded again and slowly got to her feet.

Kitsune gave her a couple of minutes before picking up the boys, one under each arm, and jumped after her. He let Sakura take the lead as she picked out the same campsite as the first time, and reluctantly left the three alone.

He was going hunting.

. o . o . o . o . o .

Kitsune easily made his way through the forest, jumping from tree branch to tree branch.

The old slimy, paedophile snake had run off. Slithered back into the hole he came from.

That did not mean Kitsune no longer had a target. Oh, no. Kabuto would never see Konoha, his master, or anything else ever again. He already held a kunai in hand, his chakra snaking over the sharp edges like wisps of smoke.

Kabuto's team was deep in the forest, and the three Genin didn't seem to be in any hurry to achieve the objective of the second task. When he came closer, Kitsune slowed down and made sure to be completely silent. Silent as death.

And it was death he was bringing.

Kitsune watched from high in a nearby tree as Kabuto walked a small distance away from his team. A bad mistake, really. He bared his teeth, tightening his hold on the cold steel in his hand. He cast a quick look at the two boys. They were talking quietly to each other, seemingly ignoring Kabuto. Kitsune didn't know what to do with them... Should he kill them? Or let them be? To be honest, he didn't really care.

Making his decision, Kitsune moved. Falling through the air, he kicked out against the trunk and launched himself at Kabuto. The teen didn't sense him.

In fact, Kitsune doubted the spy even knew he was about to die. He lifted his hand, kunai ready, and aimed for the throat.

His kunai, sharpened with wind chakra, sliced through skin, flesh, cartilage and bone effortlessly. The body hit the ground with a soft thud, easily audible in the silent forest. Kabuto's head rolled away a few feet and Kitsune turned to stare dispassionately at it. The glasses were still perched on the teen's nose.

...this was anticlimactic.

Kitsune bent down with a small, silent sigh, and wiped his weapon clean on Kabuto's clothes. He then pulled out a scroll from the breast pocket on his vest, and with practised ease opened it and quickly placed Kabuto's beheaded body and head in the storage scroll. Once he was done, he rose and looked at the scene of the crime. There was nothing left but a large pool of blood, all pumped out by Kabuto's still beating heart. And that too was quickly being soaked up by the dirt, becoming nutrition for the trees. How fitting.

Kitsune became aware of the two others and quickly returned to the trees, not bothering to stay and watch as they searched for their now dead teammate.

He still could not quite comprehend what had happened. It had all been so quick.

Almost an hour ago he had been at the gate to the village, handing over an unconscious kunoichi to his temporary teammate, and now, here he was; carrying Kabuto's body in a storage scroll out of the Forest of Death. And Orochimaru had fled.

The coward.

As Kitsune was about to exit the Forest, the truth of what had happened finally sunk in. He landed lightly next to a patrolling Chuunin, startling the man.

"Holy fuck!" The man quickly tucked his kunai back into his weapons pouch, glaring at Kitsune. "What the hell were you doing in there? You're not one of the proctors."

"Mission." Kitsune stated simply, the single word clipped and harsh.

He was angry. Furious even. And the worst part was that this wasn't even his fault.

No, Kitsune knew where to place the blame.

With a snarl on his face, Kitsune stomped off towards the Hokage tower.

. o . o . o . o . o .

"You are aware that you're bringing the civilians to their knees, right?" Kakashi commented lightly, falling into step beside him.

Kitsune ignored the man. He had to focus very hard on controlling his turbulent emotions, and had no time nor will to temper the killing intent leaking off of him in waves.

"Why are you walking? You could get there within a heartbeat." Kakashi's light voice cut through his rage with surprising ease.

"You don't even know where I'm going." Kitsune ground out.

"Maa, I can guess." Kakashi eye smiled and then turned back to his book.

Kitsune just grumbled under his breath. He knew he could get there quickly and easily, but really didn't think it was wise; he didn't want to kill the old man when he saw him... Or at least he shouldn't. Maybe.

'**It's what we're trying to prevent, Kit.**' Kurama reminded him warily. He had remained silent up till now. There was a very good reason why people tended to avoid angering shinobi as powerful as Kitsune.

As they walked in silence, Kakashi noticed the looks they were getting. Strangely enough, most of them were centered on Kakashi. Odd.

When they finally reached the tower, Kitsune simply stomped inside, disregarding shinobi and civilians alike. Kakashi strolled along. They left the poor secretary on the brink of consciousness, but Kitsune barely noticed. He went inside the Hokage's office, and his killing intent immediately filled the room, blanketing everything as if trying to smother it.

Every ANBU in the room tensed and readied themselves for an attack.

"_Why?_" The simply word was spoken with such heavy emotion it felt like a sledgehammer in the gut to those who heard.

"I think we need to hold this conversation in private, Kitsune." Hiruzen eyed the clearly agitated man. With a quick sign, the ANBU reluctantly left the room. They all perched outside the window, allowing them to re-enter the room at a second's notice. "Kakashi." Hiruzen eyed the grey haired Jounin, absently wondering why he was even there. "Shouldn't you keep an eye on your Genin team?"

"I would, but it appears they've already stumbled upon more trouble than promised." The Copy-nin's anger was much subtler than Kitsune's.

Hiruzen let out a tired sigh. "We will talk about that later. Right now, Kitsune have to give me a mission report."

Kakashi glanced at his friend. For the first time taking proper note of the fact that his uniform was splashed with old, dried blood and ripped in places. He didn't know how the smell could have eluded him. But then again, Kitsune was leaking killing intent so heavy it almost knocked out everything else.

"Yes, sir." Kakashi executed a lazy salute and then promptly left the room. He would be waiting outside.

Hiruzen activated the privacy seals the moment the door closed behind Kakashi and turned his full attention to the man standing stiffly in front of his desk.

"Please take a seat, Kitsune." He began.

"I'd rather stand."

"Then at least take off your mask. We're alone." Hiruzen repressed the urge to rub his hands over his face.

With jerky movements, Kitsune raised a hand and took off the mask that had given him his new name. Hiruzen almost flinched at Kitsune's grim, drawn expression. Then he took in the details. Kitsune had orange markings around his eyes, eyes that were not blue, but yellow. Sage mode, Hiruzen realised.

"Why did you send me on that mission? Why me? Why not someone else? _Anyone_ else?" Kitsune spat the words out.

Hiruzen leaned back, taking a slow breath.

"I am well aware of the fact that you've not told me everything, Kitsune."

Kitsune just stared, thrown off by the sudden change of subject.

"What?"

"What do you think would have happened if you had confronted Orochimaru? What would have happened if you had managed to kill him, which I suspect you would have gladly done?" He asked tiredly.

Kitsune didn't answer, still too shocked to speak.

"Orochimaru was leading the invasion, you told me. What would happen without him?" He asked.

Kitsune frowned. He didn't see what this had to do with anything, but decided to humour the aged Hokage. "I don't know." He gave a miniscule, tense shrug.

"Exactly." Hiruzen gave a tight smile that didn't come even close to his eyes.

Kitsune stared. A second ticked by and then his temporarily forgotten temper returned with a vengeance.

"You let that snake put his cursed seal on Sasuke just so we would know what happened during the invasion?!" He didn't scream. No, his voice was low, tight and almost trembling with anger.

"Yes." Came the simple response. It was the truth.

"WHY?!" Kitsune slammed a hand against the desk, causing a pile of papers to slide off to the floor. Hiruzen didn't even bat an eye.

"Naruto,"

Kitsune stilled. It was the first time he had been called his name since coming back.

"Sasuke is still alive." Hiruzen continued once he was sure Kitsune was listening. "It's unfortunate, but allowing the seal to be placed on him again is better than the death of countless of Konoha's shinobi and civilians." His voice didn't leave room for arguments.

Kitsune opened his mouth to object, but found that he couldn't. It... was true. After another stretch of silence, he visibly deflated and collapsed into one of the chairs, muttering darkly under his breath for a few minutes. Hiruzen left him alone, giving him a chance to collect himself.

"Couldn't you just have told me?" He eventually asked.

Hiruzen simply raised his eyebrows. "Really? Kitsune, I've seen you grow up. I may not have been there the last ten years of your life, but I know you." He smiled, a sharp glint still in his eyes. "You wouldn't have been able to stay away even if I had explicitly ordered you." He stated knowingly.

Kitsune shifted uneasily in his seat.

'**He's right.**'

'_Shut it, fox._' Kitsune mentally growled.

"But you still could have sent someone else on that mission." He stubbornly pushed on.

Hiruzen sighed and let out a low chuckle. Really. It was somewhat comforting to know that Naruto never changed.

"Of course I could, but it was the perfect opportunity." He huffed. "We're host to a number of foreign shinobi during these weeks, and really can't afford to look weak. Rescue and retrieval missions are risky enough as it is." He leaned back. "I'd rather send you out and get it done quickly, than have four valuable shinobi away from the village for a week." He shrugged. "You told me the invasion didn't happen until the last part of the exam. That's weeks from now." He pointed out dryly.

Kitsune smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. He ignored Kurama's laughter in the back of his mind.

'_Don't feel so smug just yet, Kyuubi. I am SO going to get you back for this._' He was well aware of the fact the he wasn't the sharpest kunai in the pouch, but that didn't mean Kurama could get away with not telling him important things like this. Nope, the fox was getting it. Later.

"But still, Jiji." Kitsune groaned as the reality of the situation returned. "I told you what happened to Sasuke, didn't I?"

"Only in general."

"He went to that old snake." Kitsune growled. "He never spoke about it when he returned, but I could see it. Spending three years with Orochimaru was not... easy. Or good for him." He glared at the old man.

Hiruzen sighed. "Being Hokage is all about making choices. Some are more difficult than others." He made a long pause. "But this time, you're here."

"What?" Kitsune had been lost in thought.

"Will you really let Sasuke run off to Orochimaru to become a missing-nin?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. He could not see that happening.

"Of course not." Kitsune scoffed. The mere idea was ridiculous.

"There you have it, then." Hiruzen smiled thinly. "You'll find a way, I'm sure."

Kitsune just scowled. Great. Now he had _another_ problem to solve. As if he didn't have enough on his plate already.

"Now, report." Hiruzen was all business now. He didn't have time to sit here and chat all day, no matter how much he might have wanted it.

Kitsune sat up straight in the chair. He quickly recounted the last few days, skimming over details and keeping to the facts as he recounted every step of their short but intense mission.

"So where is she now?"

"The Hospital." Kitsune answered quickly. "Hyuuga took her there while I went to the Forest." He blinked. "Speaking of the Forest of Death." He took out the storage scroll. "I removed one of our problems." He placed the small, innocuous thing on the desk between them with a grim smile. "This contain Kabuto's body."

"The spy. Good." Hiruzen quickly pocketed the scroll. "I'll send it to T&I as soon as we're done here." He nodded. "What about his team?"

"I left them in the forest." Kitsune shrugged. "I barely remember them. I don't know what they'll do without Kabuto, but they're not really a threat."

"I'll make sure to keep an eye on them." Hiruzen assured. "Was there anything else you wanted to add?"

Kitsune thought about it. "I want to help proctor the second part of the second task." He slowly said. Hiruzen waited patiently for him to continue. "Gaara is here. Suna's Jinchuuriki." Kitsune sighed. "His life has been... difficult." He grimaced. "Not only has he been hated and feared all his life, his own father has tried to assassinate him several times." He was silent for a while, thinking back. "He made him kill his own uncle; the only person in all of Suna that wasn't afraid of him, and cared for him. Just for a stupid test."

"The fates of Jinchuuriki are sad in general." Hiruzen offered neutrally, fully aware of who it was he was talking to. "But what does this have to do with the exam?"

"Gaara doesn't care about who he kills. In my time, he almost killed Rock Lee. He was stopped, but he still crushed the kid's arm and leg. It took Tsunade to put him back in order and she still wasn't sure if he'd be able to continue life as a shinobi."

"I see. Consider it done." Hiruzen allowed, nodding. It would give Kitsune a reason to stay close and keep an extra eye on the Genin, as well as allow Hiruzen to keep track of the elusive time traveller.

"Now I have another angry Jounin to deal with." He muttered as Kitsune replaced his mask. He eyed the young man carefully. "Are you alright?" He really should have thought to ask that earlier.

"Yes. Barely any of this blood is mine." Kitsune assured with a small, weak grin. "I just got a few scrapes. Kana healed them right way and Kurama took care of the rest."

"I still suggest you take the time to change into a fresh uniform, though." Hiruzen hummed. "Now, go keep an eye on my precious Genin." He smiled tiredly.

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Kitsune snapped a salute and then shoved his hands into his pockets and sauntered out of the room.

. o . o . o . o . o .


End file.
